Satire often morphs into fake news on click-bait sites. That what lies behind a post aimed at embarrassing Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on AJUAnews.com. (The page is one giant link to another page that tries to dupe the unwary into downloading software they don’t need.)
The Dec. 25 headline said, “Cory Booker’s son charged with assault after attack on Santa.”
The article itself decried, “the Democrats’ War on Christmas,” and described how Booker’s son “Elroy Booker flew into a rage this Christmas Eve.”
“When Elroy came across a sidewalk Santa Claus, collecting alms for charity, his seething anger was unleashed with a relentless assault on the kindly old elf,” the article said. “Those who witnessed the attack were horrified at its ferocity.”
This story was copied from a site that openly states that it posts satire.
Booker has no son, much less one named Elroy.
The article quotes local police officer Satya Martin. There is no such person in Hope, N.J., a quiet township with under 2,000 residents. Martin gets around, or at least her name does. AJUA had her as the spokeswoman for a non-existent group of Democrats who filed to switch parties to protest the impeachment of President Donald Trump –– another piece of fake news.
We rate this Pants on Fire!
Truth-o-meter Ruling
IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT
- This story was copied from a site that openly states that it posts satire.
- Booker has no son.
Statement
"Cory Booker’s son charged with assault after attack on Santa."
Context
a post on a fake news websiteSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
AJUA News, Cory Booker’s son charged with assault after attack on Santa, Dec. 26, 2019
Taters gonna tate, Cory Booker’s Son Charged With Assault After Attack On Santa, Dec. 24, 2019
Snopes, Was Cory Booker’s Son Charged with Assault After Attack on Santa?, Dec. 24, 2019
PolitiFact, Who is Cory Booker?, June 20, 2019
Translations
Language: en