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On Jan. 21, 2020, Bustatroll.org published an article positing that in 2007, former U.S. President Barack Obama had awarded the Medal of Freedom to convicted sex offender and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who authorities say took his life while awaiting trial in 2019: But this item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows: In addition to the disclaimer, the text of the Bustatroll article contains several clues about its fictitious nature. For instance, the award is referred to as the Medal of Satiiri Freedom which is frequently and fictively handed out. While Bustatroll.org carries a disclaimer labeling its content as fiction, the article's included image (shown at the top of this page) was circulated on social media removed from its fictional context. This is not a genuine photograph of Obama (who didn't take office until January 2009) awarding the Medal of Freedom to Jeffrey Epstein. This is a doctored image that was created from a photograph of Obama awarding the Medal of Freedom to President Bill Clinton in 2013: The genuine image of Obama and Clinton is available via Getty Images with the following caption: This is not the first time that a false rumor has circulated about a persona non grata receiving the medal of freedom from Obama. In 2017, a false rumor circulated that Obama had given the prestigious award to movie mogul and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein, former politician and convicted sex offender Anthony Weiner, and Bill Cosby, a comedian who was convicted of sexual assault. You can see a list of all of the people who were actually awarded the Medal of Freedom by Obama here. For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.
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