Claims that President Obama has signed an executive order to remove the words “Under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance after being pressured by Atheist and Islamic activists are spreading online.
The rumours seem to link back to an article on a website called TDT Alliance.com that operates with a headline banner “Fox News the FB Page“, despite clearly not having anything to do with Fox News.
The article reads, partly –
For several years,Atheist and Muslim activists have put pressure on The White House for the move citing religious freedom regulations.
This order will help “ensure religious diversity” the President said in a press release Saturday.
“The separation of church and state outlined in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution is an important founding principle of our nation. Our nation’s Bill of Rights guarantees not only that the government cannot establish an official religion, but also guarantees citizens’ rights to practice the religion of their choosing or no religion at all.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told Fox News.
Of course the rumour is not true. There have been no “flurry of executive orders” signed by President Obama. The webpage is one that has continuously been responsible for publishing fake news that in turn sparks online rumours.
The online graphic used to illustrated the article has been digitally manipulated. There are no stories with this description on the actual FOX News website.