On Sept. 10, 2023, the first Sunday of the NFL regular season, the SpaceXMania.com website published an article that claimed Beyoncé had been booed at a game for singing "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the Black national anthem.
The headline read, "Breaking: Beyonce Sings 'Alternative National Anthem' At The NFL, Gets Booed Off Immediately."
The story began as follows:
In the vast tapestry of American sports, few events are as unifying as the National Football League (NFL) games. These events, often seen as escapes from the daily grind, have recently become the epicenter of cultural and political discussions. The recent incident where NFL fans booed Beyoncé, one of the most celebrated artists of our time, as she sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing" – commonly referred to as the "Black National Anthem" – is a testament to the evolving dynamics of sports, music, and societal values.
Two days later, SpaceXMania.com published further reporting that said since Beyoncé would purportedly be facing a lifetime ban from the NFL for choosing to sing the Black national anthem over the traditional U.S. anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."
The headline for the second article read, "Breaking: NFL Bans Beyonce For Life For Singing An 'Alternative National Anthem' At NFL."
That story started like this:
In an unexpected and unprecedented move, the National Football League (NFL) announced a lifetime ban on global music icon, Beyoncé. The cause of this startling decision? Her choice to perform "Lift Every Voice and Sing," commonly referred to as the "Black National Anthem," during a recent NFL game. This decision has sent shockwaves throughout both the sports and entertainment industries, prompting a broader discussion about artistic freedom, cultural representation, and the role of institutions in shaping these narratives.
However, neither of these stories were true. Beyoncé did not sing at any NFL games in early September, nor had she been booed or banned for singing the Black national anthem elsewhere.
These two stories originated with a website that describes its output as being satirical in nature, both on its "About Us" page and as a label above articles.
On Facebook, a post about the first article received nearly 50,000 likes. Another post about the second story showed over 23,000 likes.
These two rumors also appeared on Esspots.com, which looked to be associated with a Facebook page named SpaceX Fanclub. That website and Facebook page both also mentioned that they publish satire.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.