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As emergency crews rushed to the aid of those stranded in Houston due to the flood waters brought by Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, the web site Our Land of the Free published a fake news article claiming that Black Lives Matter thugs had blocked ambulances and fire trucks from entering the city: This story was reproduced by a number of other outlets and presented it as if it was a genuine news story. Our Land of the Free, however, is not a reputable source of news. The web site carries two disclaimers informing readers that it does not publish factual content: The image used by Our Land of the Free to illustrate this story does show Black Lives Matter protesters on a highway. However, this image was taken from a July 2016 CNN video, which shows a group of people protesting police shootings in Atlanta (during which time no emergency crews were blocked). This is a recycled version of a story that has cropped up on a regular basis since at least 2015, generally implicating Black Lives Matter or anti-Trump protesters in the death of an innocent person. None of these stories have ever been proven to be true. We've encountered no reports of Black Lives Matter protesters interfering with the rescue efforts related to Hurricane Harvey, let alone flipping an ambulance on its side. This rumor originated from a fake news web site, and it featured a still shot from an unrelated video. Having a group of protesters block major roads or freeway in Houston in the days after Harvey made landfall would be quite a feat at any rate, considering that most of its main thoroughfares and freeways were already underwater.
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