A viral story claims that US Democrats called for flags to be flown at half-mast to grieve the death of Qasem Soleimani.
The stories all appear to have been rooted in an article by the Babylon Bee, which claimed Democratic politicians and celebrities called for flags to be flown at half-mast to “honor” the death of the Iranian general.
However, The Babylon Bee is a popular satirical website known for publishing spoof news related to US politics. While it’s articles – including this one – are generally correctly shared under the guise of satire, often the more popular articles escape this label and are mistook for accurate by social media users who only glance at the article or (more likely) simply only read the headline.
Given the outraged comments made on social media by many expressing bafflement, it is clear that some readers have took this article at face value.
The Babylon Bee has a disclaimer that reads –
The Babylon Bee is the world’s best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims. We write satire about Christian stuff, political stuff, and everyday life.
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