Colorado Lawmaker Promotes Fake News Story About Elway Firing Kneeling Broncos

10 Comments

by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

State Sen. Randy Baumgardner (R-Hot Sulphur Springs) shared a fake news article on his Facebook page this week titled, “BREAKING: Broncos VP John Elway Storms Field, Fires 3 Kneeling Players on the Spot.”

You’d think that little or no depth of thought would be required to question the veracity of this alleged news article, in part because everyone in the state of Colorado and the world would have heard about it–and seen it on TV ad nauseum–if it were a fact.

But who would expect Baumgardner to take five-and-a-quarter seconds to visit the Google and check his own facts before hitting the share button on Facebook, given that Baumgardner has repeatedly poisoned us with fake news in the past? And he’s an elected official?

Actually, it took me three-and-a-half seconds, not five-and-a-quarter, to confirm that the Elway news was fake. Read it in Snopes, the fact-checking entity used by Facebook itself:

None of these events took place. The Broncos have no players named Mavius Malphner, Ladamian Brown, or DeShaq Darq. Like everything published by America’s Last Line of Defense, the article is fake.

However, some readers mistakenly believed it to be authentic, as demonstrated by the many earnest comments on the Facebook page of America’s Last Line of Defense.

That Facebook page and website (currently operating at the URL “trumpbetrayed.us”) are part of a network of junk news sites that engage in political trolling, much of it racially-charged and inflammatory, presented as “satire.”

Baumgardner once posted a fake story claiming that Obama actually replaced American flags in the White House with “Muslim prayer curtains.” (Read about this and more here.)

Only seven Colorado legislators have signed a pledge not to post fake news on their social media accounts, even though elected lawmakers in Colorado have been repeatedly caught posting false information, made to look like real news, on Facebook.

10 thoughts on “Colorado Lawmaker Promotes Fake News Story About Elway Firing Kneeling Broncos”

JohnInDenver says:

September 29, 2018 at 6:19 pm

Shouldn't there be some blowback from Bronco fans, outraged that their Senator has no idea who plays on the team?

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1. davebarnes says:
  
  September 29, 2018 at 7:36 pm
  
  The Donkeys have fans?
  
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  1. Voyageur says:
    
    September 29, 2018 at 11:07 pm
    
    Just try buying a ticket, davie, and you'll find out just how many fans they have.
    
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    1. davebarnes says:
      
      September 30, 2018 at 2:20 pm
      
      I would never. I despise professional sports.
      
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Lucy Montrose says:

September 29, 2018 at 9:47 pm

The names of the fictional "players" are making me LOL. I mean, the first two are pretty skillfully disguised fake names, but "DeShaq Darq" is an immediate tipoff.

I must say, that piece of fake news has artistic merit. From making Elway look just like tRump to the slow release of absurdity– like any good satire, taking pains to sound serious and sober at first, but then gradually slipping in more and more silliness until there's no doubt what you're reading. The point of no return is, of course, the patently pseudo "DeShaq Darq". (Soon to be accompanied by new draft picks Sum Ting Wong and Tyrone DelGhetto.)

This took cleverness and wit to put together. Bravo, folks at TrumpBetrayed.Us. I wish writing comedy was more lucrative than working for a troll farm. Maybe you can change careers. Gain in honor and meaning what you might lose in pay.

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The realist says:

September 30, 2018 at 8:41 am

Of course it’s Baumgardner, too stupid to govern, too ignorant to care.

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Genghis says:

September 30, 2018 at 9:35 am

This is hilarious for the reasons Lucy Montrose mentioned, among others. "DaShaq Darq" brought to mind the decades-old George C. Scott flick Hardcore, which had a character named Big Dick Blaque.

And man oh man, that Randy Baumgardner. He's not just a sexual predator; he's breathtakingly stupid and gullible as well. Dude's the whole GOP package.

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1. RepealAndReplace says:
  
  September 30, 2018 at 9:36 am
  
  I'll bet he drinks beer too. American beer, not Heineken.
  
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  1. davebarnes says:
    
    September 30, 2018 at 2:26 pm
    
    Well, I usually drink local craft beers in Denver. But, I am in España and the choices are ["Spanish Bud", "Spanish Miller", Heineken] crap, so you drink "cerveza".
    I had Heineken for lunch today.
    On the other hand – I sóc feliç.
    
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  2. Phoenix Rising says:
    
    October 1, 2018 at 1:22 pm
    
    How much does he like beer, and how often can we get him to repeat that he likes beer?
    
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