Fox & Friends Reports Fake Story As News

The real story: Caucasian students at Lewiston High School in Lewiston, Maine left a ham steak on a cafeteria table to offend Somali teens.

The fake story: An article on Associated Content, a site of user-generated content, reported that L-town students put a ham sandwich on the table to anger the Somalis. The story included humorous made-up quotes from superintendent Leon Levesque and Stephen Wessler, the executive director of the Center for Prevention of Hate Violence.

Fox News then aired at least eight segments referencing Associated Content’s article.

On Tuesday, Fox & Friends reported these parody quotes and details as actual news. Poking fun at the students, hosts asked whether ham was “a hate crime… or lunch?” and showed screen shots of ham sandwiches, starving Somalians, belching, animal noises, and mock “reenactments” of the incident. Ironically, the hosts assured viewers several times, “We’re not making this up!”

“Fair and Balanced” for sure — even if it’s fake.

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