Fact Check

Malia Obama Busted Buying 6 Pounds of Marijuana in Chicago?

A fake news site photoshopped Malia Obama into an image from a 2013 news report about dogfighting to falsely claim she was arrested in Chicago.

Published May 7, 2017

Claim:
Malia Obama was arrested while attempting to purchase marijuana in Chicago.

On 5 May 2017, the The Last Line of Defense web site (and subsequently related shill sites such as USA Politics Now) published an article reporting that Malia Obama, the daughter of former president Barack Obama, had been "arrested with a gang of thugs in Chicago" on charges related to dogfighting:

Malia Obama may have done irreparable harm to her career this morning when she decided to join a gang of thugs in Chicago for a day of drinking, drugs and dogfighting at a public park in Chicago. Malia was arrested along with seven others and charged with wanton endangerment of animals, public intoxication and possession of a controlled substance.

She was found in the company of mostly older men when police arrived after being called by a concerned citizen complaining about a loud group of people watching dogs fight in the park ... According to the Secret Service, Malia had slipped away late last night after being told open air parties at public parks were too dangerous. She wasn’t seen again until she showed up in the 12th precinct jail. her parents haven’t been available for comment.

BREAKING- Malia Obama Arrested With A Gang Of Thugs In Chicago

In August 2017 the "Land of the Free" fake news site ran the same false story, changing Malia's alleged offense from a dogfighting-related one to a drug-related one:

Apparently, Malia’s weed habit has gotten worse because she was just caught in a massive marijuana bust in her home city of Chicago, Illinois.

Malia was caught buying weed edibles from two of her thug friends as well as enough pot to make thug rapper Snoop Dogg look like an amateur, according to sources within Chicago’s elite Drug Task Force.

These reports of the former First Daughter's arrest were completely fabricated, and the image appended to them as "proof" that Malia Obama had been arrested in Chicago was a photograph of an October 2013 dogfighting ring bust which was digitally altered to insert a picture of her face in place of one of the original suspects:

dog fighting arrests

The Last Line of Defense (The Resistance) is a fake news site that consistently dupes social media users with fabricated stories, despite the presence of a disclaimer disclosing its "satirical" nature:

The Resistance may include information from sources that may or may not be reliable and facts that don’t necessarily exist. All articles should be considered satirical and any and all quotes attributed to actual people complete and total baloney. Pictures that represent actual people should be considered altered and not in any way real.

None of site's articles are truthful — including this one about Malia Obama's arrest in Chicago.

Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes.