On Feb. 15, 2021, the Facebook page for America's Last Line of Defense shared a misleading news story. Its headline read: "AOC & Ilhan Omar Team Up to Ban the Pledge of Allegiance." The article appeared to have been originally published on March 8, 2020:
Everyone knows that patriotism in America is at an all-time high, thanks solely to President and Dear Leader Donald Jacknut Trump. In a desperate attempt to tamp down the fervor of red-blooded American patriots who revere symbols and traditions more than the values they embody, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Socialist of New York) and Ilhan Omar (anti-American immigrant, now of Minnesota) are teaming up to ban our sacred Pledge of Allegiance.
Yes, patriots, they’re coming for our Pledge of Allegiance.
Ilhan Omar said she only pretended to recite the Pledge when she became a United States citizen, knowing that 17 years later, she’d be elected to the US House of Representatives and have the chance to ban the Pledge.
She now admits that instead of reciting the Pledge, she mouthed the words to her native country’s national anthem and crossed her fingers behind her back, making her naturalization ceremony completely bogus and unenforceable.
Alexandra Octavia-Cortisone, on the other hand, claims to be a United States citizen, despite having a foreign-sounding name. She said, however, that after failing to remove the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, she decided to go for an outright ban.
This item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.