ABCnews.com.co was a
fake news website
Fake news websites (also referred to as hoax news websites) are websites on the Internet that deliberately publish fake news— hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news—often using social media to drive web traffic and ...
which mimicked the URL, design and logo of the
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
website. Many stories from ''ABCnews.com.co'' were widely shared before being debunked.
The website's disclaimer page gave the address of the
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a small American, unaffiliated Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. Labeled a hate group, WBC is known for engaging in homophobic and anti-American pickets, ...
as its primary location.
Paul Horner, the owner of the site, claimed to make $10,000 per month from advertising traffic.
Examples of fake news stories
''ABCnews.com.co'' promulgated stories about prominent figures and organizations, including:
*
Anti-Trump protesters hired from
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark began the ...
paid as much as $3,500
*
El Chapo
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
escaped from Mexican prison again
*President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
signed an order banning assault weapon sales
*
Michael Jordan intended to move the
Charlotte Hornets out of North Carolina if the state did not revoke
a law disallowing transgender people access to restrooms
*The
Supreme Court of the United States revoked the tax-exempt status of the
Church of Scientology
See also
*
List of fake news websites
References
{{reflist
External links
Official site
Fake news websites