Fact Check

Ku Klux Klan Endorse Dr. Ben Carson for President?

Rumor: The Ku Klux Klan has endorsed Dr. Ben Carson for President.

Published May 7, 2015

Claim:

Claim:   The Ku Klux Klan has endorsed Dr. Ben Carson for President.


FALSE


Example:   [Collected via Facebook, May 2015]


Did the KKK really endorse Ban Carson for President?

 

Origins:   In May 2015, retired neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson announced that he would be seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Shortly afterwards, the National Report published an article reporting that Dr. Carson's candidacy had been endorsed by the KKK:



The Klu Klux Klan, (KKK) announced today their endorsement of Dr. Ben Carson for President of the United States. This marks the first time in history that the infamous hate group has endorsed an African American for our nation’s highest office.

The Klan released this statement via it's [sic] website.

"After careful consideration of all candidates and potential candidates, The American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan endorse Dr. Ben Carson for President of the United States. We feel Dr. Carson's vision for America most closely resembles that of the Klan's. It's a new day for the KKK!"


That report on the Klan endorsement was also seemingly picked up by the New York Times

Neither report was genuine, however. The National Report is a fake news site whose disclaimer page notes that all of the site's articles are fiction:



National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental.

The seeming New York Times pickup of this report is an example of a phenomenon covered in our article "6 Quick Ways to Identify Fake News": sites using spoofed domain names to imitate real news organizations. The real New York Times site can be found at nytimes.com, but a fake site at nytimes.com.co mirrors National Report content to falsely suggest the National Report fake news stories have also appeared in a legitimate publication.

Last updated:   7 May 2015

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.