Leading liberal website falls for fake story about Michele Bachmann

FILE -- Republican Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann attends the Faith and Freedom Coalition Road to Majority Conference at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, June 14, 2013. (REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert)

Think Progress, a website operated by the liberal Center for American Progress, failed to vet a phony story which claimed that Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann proposed “Americanization” labor camps for Central American unaccompanied children.

“I’m calling on all of us, Obama and Congress and everyone, to chip in and build special new facilities…‘Americanization facilities,’ if you will,” Bachmann said, according to Think Progress, which has since corrected its embarrassing flub.

“And we’d send these kids to these facilities, in Arizona and Texas and wherever else. And we’d get private sector business leaders to locate to those facilities and give these children low-risk jobs to do. And they’d learn about the American way of life, earn their keep, and everyone wins in the end,” Bachmann continued, in Think Progress’ fantasy land.

Think Progress’ owner, the Center for American Progress, is populated with numerous veterans of the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Think Progress was snookered by a post at a website called KCTV 7, which presents itself as a news outlet based in Kansas City. A quick internet search reveals a number of online posts pointing out that KCTV 7 is a fake news site. It also shows no affiliation to major news networks. According to TV guide listings for the Kansas City area, channel 7 is not in use.

In its parody article, KCTV 7 claimed that Bachmann called for the work camps in an interview with Minnesota’s Twin Cities News talk radio host Jason Lewis. But the fake site merely linked to Twin Cities News’ website, not to an actual article or radio interview featuring Bachmann.

Think Progress published the erroneous story on Sunday but corrected it and issued an apology after another liberal website, the Raw Story, pointed out the massive hoax.

“The news site KCTV7 News is a parody. Rep. Bachmann (R-MN) never made the statement. We sincerely regret the error,” reads Think Progress’ correction.

But the Raw Story seemed to provide cover for Think Progress’ error in its headline, which read “Crazy racist Bachmann story so believable liberal websites fall for parody.”

The websites Crooks and Liars and Daily Kos are two other liberal outlets that fell for the fake story.

Bachmann, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, is a big target for liberals, largely because of her religious conservatism.

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