UPDATE, September 14: Several readers have reached out to THE WEEKLY STANDARD to point out that the link to “MSNBC appearance” in the quoted material after the second paragraph is incorrect. That link is original to the story that is being fact-checked and was not placed by any TWS writers or editors. It is our policy not to edit text that we quote from other sources.
“Bob Woodward Admits He Lied In Anti-Trump Book,” the site “Proudpatriot.us” claimed in an article flagged by Facebook users.
The article uses an actual quote from Eric Trump during his appearance on Fox & Friends Wednesday, but continues with a fabricated quote falsely attributed to Woodward, with a link that is not to an MSNBC video clip. (Editor’s note: The incorrect link, which appears to be a prank, is original to the “Proudpatriot.us” article and was not added by TWS Fact Check.)
Woodward has pushed back against President Trump for pointing out that numerous “sources” didn’t even speak to Woodward and have come out to say he was lying in his trash book. But now, he admits he lied.
“There was a lot of guesswork when I was putting this book together and I had to embellish a little,” Woodward admitted in an MSNBC appearance. “I used hundreds of sources, but not all of the information was available.”
Woodward “admitted” no such thing and has only continued to defend the book’s accuracy.
The article originally appeared on the so-called “satirical” blog America’s Last Line of Defense. Proud Patriot, however, bears no indicator that the article (or the site) is satirical/unserious.
This raises the question: What happens when satire becomes misinformation?
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