Quick Take
A story claiming that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered to “drop impeachment in exchange for full immigrant amnesty” is false. It was created by a publication that calls its work satire.
Full Story
Half of House Democrats have now signaled that they support launching an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far resisted, insisting instead that Democrats should continue their investigations into Trump before proceeding to impeachment proceedings.
“The decision will be made in a timely fashion — this isn’t endless — and when we have the best, strongest possible case,” Pelosi said at a recent press conference.
A fictitious headline circulating on social media, however, erroneously claims that Pelosi is already prepared to “drop” the idea of impeachment in exchange for “amnesty” for immigrants.
“Pelosi Offers to Drop Impeachment In Exchange For Full Immigrant Amnesty,” the headline reads.
That story was published on dailyworldupdate.us, one of many websites operated by the publication America’s Last Line of Defense, which claims its work is satire. We’ve written many times about the publication’s content, which is often erroneously spread as news.
At least three other websites also republished the story, without the disclaimers included on dailyworldupdate.us. (“Satire for Flat Earthers, Trumpsters and Y’All Qaeda,” the dailyworldupdate.us nameplate reads).
Those who click beyond the viral headline would see obvious signs of the story’s suspect nature. For example, a photo caption claims that Pelosi “also added a rider to get Congress it’s [sic] own private Dave and Busters. With at least three Galaga machines. And a Phoenix.”
But those signs — and the disclaimers on the original story — aren’t visible to Facebook users in pro-Trump groups who spread and opine on the headline as if the story is real.
In comment threads, people responded, calling Pelosi “pathetic,” “clueless” and “crazy.”
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.
Sources
“About.” Dailyworldupdate.us. Accessed 2 Aug 2019.
“List: The 118 House Democrats calling for an impeachment inquiry into Trump.” CNN. 2 Aug 2018.
“Speaker Pelosi: ‘I’m Not Trying to Run Out the Clock’ on Impeachment.” Video. C-SPAN. 26 Jul 2019.
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