The claim: Disney CEO said the company made a ‘huge mistake’ by ‘waking up’
A satire website that sell hoaxes to “trolley” conservatives has once again led Facebook users to believe a fabricated story on a hot topic.
According an undated article of the USA Taters website, which describes its content as “fictional”, the Walt Disney Corporation has come to regret its public opposition to Florida legislation known to critics as the “Don’t say gay” law. The new law will penalize school districts that “encourage classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in the elementary grades” when comes into force in July.
“After devastating losses, Disney CEO admits company made ‘huge mistake’ in waking up,” reads the article’s headline. It was shared thousands of times on Facebook in several weeks.
The America – Love It or Leave It Facebook page attracted more than 500 shares in your posting of the article, captioned, “They sure did. It gets worse every week.” Despite the page description Claiming that “nothing on this page is real,” the post prompted outraged comments from many users who took it as fact, criticizing Disney CEO Bob Chapek for allegedly trying to back down from his position.
“You don’t mean it, the only reason you say you made a mistake is because it’s affecting your job,” wrote one.
Another non-satirical page that shared the article. corrected your post which had received a similar stream of angry comments.
“Update: It’s a satire!” added the author to the post, which was shared more than 2,600 times. “I apologize, I missed it!”
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USA TODAY has contacted multiple users who shared the claim for comment.
The article was fictitious
There is no truth to the claim that a Disney CEO said waking up was a mistake.
Chapek has made no public comment rescinding Disney’s current commitment to help fight the bill in court, despite significant backlash from conservatives. That backlash includes a new Florida law that shed decades-old privileges that had allowed the company to self-govern the area designated as part of Walt Disney World.
Plus:A smaller world for Disney? Florida lawmakers revoke special home rule status
The article also contains other elements of humor and fiction that some readers missed.
At the top of the page, the article is attributed to a fictional author named “Flagg Eagleton-Patriot” and is classified as “Disney Fan Fiction”. He was also not referring to the current CEO of Disney, instead calling him “Joe Barron.”
US potatoes and various Facebook pages who shared the article are subsidiaries of America’s Last Line of Defense, a “network of satire, parody, and nonsense” run by creator Christopher Blair, according to blair.
US potatoes “About Us” Page claims that the site’s mission is to shame and humiliate people who believe in its fact-free content.
“Nothing on this page is real,” said the Description of America’s Last Line of Defense reads “It’s a collection of satirical fantasies of liberal trolls masquerading as conservatives. Be warned.”
Fact check:False Claim That Disney CEO Was Arrested In Human Trafficking Operation
However, Blair’s various stories have been shared as fact Y believed by manyprompting earlier fact checks by USA TODAY.
“I welcome every fact check,” Blair wrote in an email to USA TODAY. “I understand exactly why they are needed.”
Our rating: Satire
Based on our research, we rate SATIRE’s claim that Disney’s CEO said the company made a “huge mistake” by “waking up.” The source of this claim is USA Taters, which claims on an “About Us” page that its content is completely fictitious. The Disney CEO has not made any comment resembling the claim.
Our data verification sources:
- America – Love It or Leave It, retrieved April 22, About
- USA Taters, archived April 14, About us
- Christopher Blair, April 25, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Florida Senate, 2022, Parents’ Rights in Education Act
- The New York Times, March 9, Disney CEO Says Company ‘Opposes’ Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill
- USA TODAY, March 28, DeSantis signs into law what critics call the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill
- USA TODAY, April 21, A smaller world for Disney? Florida lawmakers revoke special home rule status
- USA TODAY, August 25, 2020, Fact Check: Viral Claim About Nancy Pelosi And Overseas Military Voters Is False, Comes From Satire Site
- USA TODAY, February 16, 2021, Fact Check: It’s Impossible for Pelosi to Divert Social Security Funds for Impeachment
- USA TODAY, September 24, 2020, Fact Check: Claim Biden Called 2nd Amendment ‘Obsolete’ Is Satire
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Reference-www.usatoday.com