Other Nations Getting in on the Fake News Trend

By Kirk D.

Years ago journalists would carefully vet information and sources before publishing anything, but in 2017 the ‘journalistic’ standard is to simply publish anything that might increase readership, no matter who it may hurt or no matter how ridiculously inaccurate the information may be.

Buzzfeed recently published a so-called dossier on Donald Trump that was not only completely unsubstantiated, unprovable, and unvetted, but was likely generated by a 4Chan user as an intended and obvious prank.

However, despite the ludicrousness of this dossier the mainstream media is still claiming that it’s true. And now that Trump has implemented a temporary immigration halt, using a law Obama signed into law in 2015, other countries are getting in on the hysteria, wondering if they’ll be next.

On Feb 3rd, Rappler.com, one of the largest online news outlets in the Philippines posted an article entitled “Southern Philippines next in Trump’s travel ban?” In the article they reference an alleged statement (which has since been pulled) from Hammond Law Group LLC, a U.S. based law firm, stating that Trump’s travel ban could expand to include countries like “Egypt, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Columbia, Venezuela, southern Philippines, trans-Sahara (Mali), and Sulu/Sulawesi Seas Littoral.” They also boldly asserted that the expanded ban could likely be published “within the next two weeks.”

However, Egypt and the Philippines are both allies of the US.

What sense would it make to ban travel from an ally nation?

And then to assert that only the “southern Philippines” (an area where a large number of Muslims reside) would be barred from entering the U.S.? I wasn’t aware that countries issued passports based on the region in which a person lives (FYI, they don’t). This unsubstantiated claim should have never seen the light of day, but in 2017 apparently no piece of fake news is off the reporting table.

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