Did mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, ban the word Christmas? Fake News

Claims are spreading on social media that claim a Muslim mayor just banned the word Christmas in Hoboken, New Jersey.

The claims are linking back to the same article that has now been republished onto a number of different websites but was originally published on the website TheLastLineOfDefense.Online. The article reads in part –

Earlier this year, Hoboken, New Jersey elected its first Muslim mayor. Due to take office in January, Ravi Bhalla received a Christmas gift from the current mayor, Dawn Zimmer: a chance to make one mayoral decree at the annual Christmas gala at the Patrick C. Farley Community Center on 5th and Brussels.
Bhalla and Zimmer shook hands, then Bhalla shocked the roughly 200 citizens in attendance with his decree that “the word ‘Christmas shall not be said at government functions.’”
Zimmer looked as shocked as everyone else, but she reluctantly agreed that she would keep her word and that no public officials in Hoboken were permitted to use that word in an official capacity. According to the Hoboken Journal, “the event was closed to the public and journalists were not permitted to bring cameras, and our incoming mayor is probably glad of that.”

The article is false, and the site that originally published the article is a fake news website that regularly authors Islamophobic articles under the guise of satire. The site includes a disclaimer in the footer of each webpage that claims as much.

Firstly, the article implies Ravi Bhalla is the mayor of Hoboken in New Jersey. However he isn’t. He is due to take office in 2018.

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Secondly, Ravi Bhalla, isn’t a Muslim, rather he is of the Sikh faith.

Thirdly, Ravi Bhalla didn’t ban the word Christmas. There are no reports of the described incident ever taking place, and Bhalla has even used the word Christmas on many of his social media posts.

Fourthly, as stated above, the article was first published on a fake news website. TheLastLineOfDefense.online features the below disclaimer on all of its articles.

sat•ire ~ˈsaˌtī(ə)r
noun
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
If you disagree with the definition of satire or have decided it is synonymous with “comedy,” you should really just move along.

The site is part of a network of similar sites that regularly post this type of content. As such the news is fake and should not be circulated as genuine.