Remember when the late Jerry Falwell accused Tinky-Winky, a character from a children's television show of being gay? That's cocktail canape compared the newest anti-LGBTQ conspiracies floating in social media.
From The Associated Press:
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts this week featured an image made to look like an online CNN story about the popular Kellogg’s cereal Rice Krispies. “Kellogg’s spokesperson announces Rice Krispie mascot ‘Pop’ is now a trans woman,” read a fake headline that misspelled the famous cereal brand, Rice Krispies. The image was edited to look like a real CNN story published May 20. While some social media users spread the image as a joke, others believed the fake story and expressed outrage in response. A search of CNN’s website found no legitimate reporting that matched the image. Emily Kuhn, senior director of communications at CNN Digital Worldwide, confirmed in an email to The Associated Press that the image was fabricated and no such story had been published by the cable news network. Kellogg’s spokesperson Kris Bahner also confirmed the company had not made any such announcement.
According to Snopes, a site devoted to debunking rumors and hearsay stories:
The meme consisted of a cartoon showing Snap, Crackle, and Pop, the well-known gnome mascots of Rice Krispies cereal, along with the following text, presented as the headline of a CNN article: “Kellogg’s spokesperson announces Rice Krispie mascot ‘Pop’ is now a trans woman.”
Hat tip to LGBTQNation.
