NEWS

Fact Check: Satirical websites still can't get enough of Palin

Staff Writer
Florida Times-Union
Associated Press Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off is the latest site to fabricate a Sarah Palin quote.

A meme spreading around the Internet says that Sarah Palin said on the SarahPalinChannel.com, "It will be nice to have a president with a normal name back in the White House. Ted or Scott or Donald. I mean, how can you claim to be an American and have a name that sounds like you have camels for pets?"

The facts: Palin has been criticized for some of her statements since she rose to fame as the Alaskan governor and Republican vice presidential nominee.

But she didn't say the "American name" quote. It came from another of the satiric social media sites, "Stop the World, the Teabaggers Want Off."

On May 13, this entertainment Facebook group posted a photo of Palin with the fictitious quote. According to Snopes.com, the site frequently posts fake quotes from politicians and conservative TV personalities. It previously attributed such false words to U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney and "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson.

Palin has been a frequent target, Snopes.com notes. Stop the World has previously attributed quotes to Palin endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu and warning that vaccinations cause homosexuality.

A disclaimer on the group's Facebook page states:

"This page is for entertainment purposes. It is NOT meant to be taken seriously. It is primarily satire and parody with a mix of political memes and messages."

Snopes.com points out that some readers are probably familiar with satirical sites, such as The Onion and The National Report, but the lesser-known Facebook groups often fly under the radar and many times fool people.