Lawmaker apparently mistakes satire for fact
In a posting to Facebook followers about an $8 billion Planned Parenthood “Abortionplex,” U.S. Rep. John Fleming apparently fell victim to political satire spun by a website.
Fleming, R-Minden, posted the fictional story as fact, denouncing the “Abortionplex” with 2,000 abortion rooms, a three-story nightclub and a 10-screen multiplex theater as “abortion by wholesale.”
The story that Fleming referenced came from The Onion, a satirical news website that posted an item Saturday about a suitcase looking forward all year to the conveyer belt ride at the airport.
Fleming deleted the “Abortionplex” post after one Facebook user told him it was satire and questioned how he got elected.
Messages via the phone and email to Fleming’s press office went unreturned Monday as his Internet misstep generated a buzz on political blogs.
The Associated Press quoted an unnamed Fleming spokesman as saying by email Monday that the post was inadvertent “and taken down within minutes.”
The Atlantic Monthly magazine, CBS and Newsday, a New York daily newspaper, also reported on Fleming’s Internet post.
Joe Randazzo, The Onion’s editor, issued a prepared statement Monday in response to the uproar.
“We’re delighted to hear that Rep. Fleming is a regular reader of America’s Finest News Source and doesn’t bother himself with the New York Times, Washington Post, the mediums of television and radio, or any other lesser journalism outlets,” Randazzo said.
Fleming is relatively new to the U.S. House of Representatives. He won election in December 2008. He is a family physician who serves as chairman of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs.
The story that Fleming posted from The Onion is from May 18, 2011.
The article apparently resurfaced after Susan G. Komen for the Cure reversed course this month on eliminating funding for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics. The charity foundation angered anti-abortion proponents by deciding to continue the funding to Planned Parenthood, a nonprofit organization providing reproductive health and child health services, including abortion services in many locations, and is under investigation by a Florida congressman.
Fleming issued a statement blasting Planned Parenthood and “its liberal supporters.”
His Facebook post was captured by Literally Unbelievable, which tracks stories from The Onion that are posted on the Internet social site.
“More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by wholesale,” Fleming posted on his Facebook fan page.
Hudson Hongo, who runs Literally Unbelievable, said a reader submitted a screenshot of Fleming’s page with the posting.
“The Onion reran their Abortionplex story in response to the Komen Foundation controversy and the article suddenly found popularity again among abortion opponents,” Hongo said. “I would imagine Fleming saw the story through one of these people and ran with it, Planned Parenthood being on the minds of many lately.”
The satirical Onion story describes the grand opening of a Topeka, Kan., abortion facility “that will allow (Planned Parenthood) to terminate unborn lives with an efficiency never before thought possible.”
The photo accompanying the article shows what appears to be a mall. In the background is a sign with the word “ABORTIONS” and an arrow pointing to an “8,864,902 Terminated” banner.
Quoted in the article is one of the Abortionplex’s first clients who says, “After a couple of margaritas and a ride down the lazy river they’ve got circling the place, I got caught up in the vibe.”
Fleming, or whoever handles his page, stayed away from Facebook on Monday. As of 5 p.m. Monday, his most recent posting was a news article about President Barack Obama from the previous day.
Meanwhile, The Onion was tackling post-Super Bowl coverage.
The website’s lead headline: “Eli Manning Asks Dad If He Can Stop Playing Football Now.”