PropertyValue
?:author
?:datePublished
  • 2016-09-23 (xsd:date)
?:headline
  • Charlotte Tells Rioters Anyone Caught Looting Will Lose Welfare and Food Stamps Permanently (en)
?:inLanguage
?:itemReviewed
?:mentions
?:reviewBody
  • The shooting of Keith Lamont Scott on 20 September 2016 kicked off protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, events that a clickbait fake news site shamelessly played upon to lure readers into generating advertising revenue for them. On 21 September 2016, the Baltimore Gazette — a purveyor of fake news, not a real news outlet — published an article reporting that any rioters caught looting in Charlotte would permanently lose food stamps and all other government benefits: The article appeared at the height of unrest in Charlotte and echoed genuine comments (not subsequently codified as law) made by a Maryland legislator during unrest in Baltimore following the 2015 death of Freddie Gray. The false rioters will lose food stamp and welfare benefits rumor is a favorite for fake news sites to trot out during periods of protest and demonstrations: An unnecessary Google search reveals there is no Charlotte city official named Wilson Stewart, and the image used to illustrate the article actually depicts an April 2009 G20 summit protest in London rather than September 2016 demonstrations in Charlotte. In addition to the claim about riots and food stamps, the Baltimore Gazette additionally exploited controversy over recent police shooting incidents by recycling a fake news story from 2014 about an overzealous policeman harming a breastfed baby or her mother. (en)
?:reviewRating
rdf:type
?:url