In April 2020, the website American Buffoon published an article positing that David Green, CEO of Hobby Lobby arts and crafts stores, had reportedly made an appalling remark about slavery and religious freedoms:
Hobby Lobby CEO Claims Not Being Able To Own Slaves Violates His Religious Freedom
Hobby Lobby is back in the news again, and this time it’s even more controversial than before. In an interview, CEO David Green made the case that the abolishment of slavery violates his religious freedoms under the 1st Amendment.
“The 1st Amendment comes before the 13th and 14th, and the Bible clearly approves of owning slaves” stated David Green on Fox News this morning.
This item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. The article originated with a website that describes its output on its Facebook page as being humorous or satirical in nature, as follows:
America needed a news source that people could turn to. American Buffoon answered that call. [Relax. It's just satire. Mostly.]
Readers may have been confused, however, as American Buffoon does not display a satire disclaimer visibly on its website.
Green has been in the news recently over controversial statements issued by his company, but none to our knowledge regarding any argument on behalf of the constitutionality of owning slaves.
It's worth nothing that the article in question included no citation or record of the supposed interview it quoted. Instead it linked to another American Buffoon article about former TV personality Paula Deen.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.