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PolitiFact works to inform reads of what is real and what is fake news

Some readers think satirical news is real
Posted at 7:06 PM, Mar 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-30 12:20:37-04

President Donald Trump has said it again and again as in an effort to discredit the news media .

"It's all fake news. It's phony stuff. It didn't happen."
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But there are some online satirical websites that actually do make up stories. PolitiFact Wisconsin checks an online story that may look real but it isn't.

"If you come across the article, just on its own and not familiar with the website, you wouldn't necessarily know it's fake news," said Tom Kertscher with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

House Speaker Paul Ryan is in the news a lot lately but when a satirical website called TheLastLineOfDefense.org made a claim about Ryan PolitiFact Wisconsin checked it out.
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"The website, the bloggers claimed that President Trump, kind of a la Celebrity Apprentice Show, told Paul Ryan: ‘You're Fired’," Kertscher said.
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Ryan and Trump are said to have a good working relationship these days so the headline is an attention grabber, but that's all it is.
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PolitiFact Wisconsin read the disclaimer on the blogger’s website, but not everybody does - especially when stories are often shared on social media.
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"The disclaimer says ‘Hey a lot this material on our website is satirical you can't necessarily trust it’," Kertscher said. “But if you just happened to come across the article itself on the website or someone shared it with you, you would not necessarily know that."
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Even Ryan's press secretary called the headline “pure fiction.” PolitiFact Wisconsin rated this one “Pants on Fire.”

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Why fact check a satirical website? This Sunday marks the first ever International Fact Checking day. The goal for organizers is to create a rallying cry for more facts in "politics, journalism and everyday life."