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Madison Czopek
By Madison Czopek June 23, 2020

No, Obama’s daughters were not caught on camera burning American flag

If Your Time is short

• There is no evidence that Sasha and Malia Obama were caught on camera burning a U.S. flag at a recent protest.

• The blog post appears to be copied from an article on a website claiming to publish satire.

Former President Barack Obama and his family have left the White House, but not the spotlight. 

More than three years into the Trump administration, false claims about Obama’s daughters continue to percolate. A recent blog post claims that Sasha and Malia Obama were caught burning an American flag on camera at a protest.

"In a show of anti-American sentiment that will surprise precisely no one, Sasha and Malia Obama were allegedly caught on camera burning a United States flag during a protest in Washington, DC," the post reads.

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

There is no evidence of Obama’s daughters burning a flag at a recent protest. 

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This blog post was copied word-for-word from a website, BustaTroll.org, that produces what it says is satire.  

BustaTroll.org includes two small disclaimers at the beginning of its article about Obama’s daughters, which are designed to alert readers that the article is satire. Further, BustaTroll.org’s "about us" page clearly categorizes the website’s work as satire that is not meant to be taken seriously.

"Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real," the BustaTroll.org "about us" page reads. "Any similarities between this site’s pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical."

While BustaTroll.org is clear to indicate the article isn’t meant to be taken seriously, the copied blog post has none of the same disclaimers.

There is no evidence Sasha and Malia Obama burned an American flag at a recent protest, and it seems the claim originated from a website that purports to publish satire. 

We rate this post Pants on Fire.

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No, Obama’s daughters were not caught on camera burning American flag

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