On July 11, 2019, the Alternative Facts website published an article positing that President Trump had issued an executive order forcing users of social platforms to follow and/or like the president’s official accounts:
In order to address what he sees as a “growing threat” to his presidency as one source put it, Trump has issued a direct executive order to Facebook and Twitter. According to Trump’s command, the social media companies have been given two weeks to implement a new policy that forces users of the platforms to follow and/or like the president’s official accounts. New users would be automatically registered with likes for and follows of President Trump. Existing users would be given a certain amount of time to comply, and if they do not follow the order, their accounts should be terminated, Trump also ordered.
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:
This website is satirical in scope and intent. It provides fake news and social criticism in a satirical setting. If this offends you, you might want to consider doing something else with your time rather than looking at the Internet. Really, the quality of your life will improve dramatically. Our intention is not to fool anyone, but if you do get fooled, don’t sweat it.