Fake Washington Post Newspapers Handed Out In Multiple Areas In DC
WASHINGTON, DC (WJZ) — Some DC residents were handed some actual fake news Wednesday morning.
A mysterious round of fake editions of the Washington Post was handed out at multiple locations in the D.C. area, where in lieu of the Post's usual tagline, "Democracy Dies In Darkness," the phrase "Democracy Awakens in Action" appeared at the top.
The paper's lead headline: "Unpresidented: Trump Hastily Departs White House, Ending Crisis,"
The editions claimed that President Trump was leaving office. The print papers, dated May 1, 2019, were filled with anti-Trump stories, also appearing on a website that mimicked the official Washington Post website.
The Washington Post tweeted out a story explaining fake editions of the newspaper had been passed out at multiple locations in the D.C. area Wednesday.
Fake editions of The Washington Post were handed out at multiple locations in D.C. https://t.co/QpjpOreYYw
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 16, 2019
The Post's PR team released a statement on Twitter:
There are fake print editions of The Washington Post being distributed around downtown DC, and we are aware of a website attempting to mimic The Post's. They are not Post products, and we are looking into this.
— Washington Post PR (@WashPostPR) January 16, 2019
Later Wednesday morning, a group called the "Yes Men" said it produced the fake newspapers and website.
Under the headline, "Unpresidented," the fake paper's lead story said Trump had left a resignation message on a napkin in the Oval Office and left DC for Yalta, the Crimean resort that was the site of a meeting of Allied leaders during World War II.
The website's most recent blog post read the headline: "Trump is over- if you want it,"
A statement posted online by the Yes Men said author Onnesha Roychoudhuri created the paper with author L.A. Kauffman.
"The story this paper tells is more reasonable than our current reality," says author Onnesha Roychoudhuri, who created the paper together with author L.A. Kauffman and trickster activist collective the Yes Men. "And it's anything but far-fetched. We're already seeing unprecedented levels of protest and resistance. Now we just need to ask ourselves: What's next? This paper offers a blueprint to help us reclaim our democracy."
He tweeted a picture of himself passing out copies of the "special edition" earlier Wednesday.
Code Pink, a liberal activist group, posted a video on Facebook of the founder, Medea Benjamin, also passing out copies of the paper
Washington Post readers and Twitter users took to their timelines to react to the fake news outbreak:
how do we know it's really you posting this.
— Cia Harper???????? Gamified Creative Production ???? (@LuciaOnPurpose) January 16, 2019
#matrix
Is the fake washington post filled with real fake news at least?
— Evan Stern (@Ashevilleluxury) January 16, 2019
Some scoffed at the stunt, using it to criticize the media in general.
What fake news?? ???????? pic.twitter.com/uzjlvkbBMn
— Nancy Gunn (@NancyGunn2) January 16, 2019