Barron Trump Hospitalized With Pneumonia? Plus, How To Tell Fake News From Real News


Has Barron Trump been hospitalized with pneumonia? That’s the question fans of the First Family are asking after an alarming headline appeared on a legitimate-looking website claiming that the First Son is hooked up to tubes and clinging to life.

The answer is, no, Barron does not, as far as anyone knows, have pneumonia, nor is he hospitalized. Any claim otherwise is the dreaded “Fake News.”

As Politifact reports, the story got traction thanks to a report from the legitimate-looking website, AmericanToday.us.

“Horrible news are coming from the President’s house while President Trump on Friday began a 17-day stint at his prized golf club in Bedminster, NJ. Barron Trump has been rushed to hospital with severe pneumonia while on holiday in Bedminster, NJ.”

It is true that the president and his family, Barron included, are on vacation in New Jersey. And while no one can say conclusively that Barron doesn’t have pneumonia, the “evidence” to support the claim is pretty flimsy.

First, the story showed an image of a hand, purportedly Barron’s, with IV’s and whatnot attached to it. Supposedly, the younger Trump sent the photo to his friends on Snapchat, with the caption “Not the sort of bangles I usually choose on holiday.”

OK, first of all, no American kid says “on holiday,” and no 11-year-old boy even knows what a bangle is.

Are these bangles? Are boys wearing them these days? The mystery deepens. [Image by AlexVolot/Thinkstock]

Second of all, reverse-image searching is hideously easy, and Politifact made use of an image search site to track down the source of the photo of “Barron’s” hand. It was from an Instagram post over two years ago.

So if Barron Trump is hospitalized with pneumonia, the information hasn’t been made public. But it’s a safe bet that legitimate news sources would be covering the story, as well, and not just one Fake News site.

Pictured: Not Barron Trump. [Image by Kseniia Vladimirovna/Shutterstock]

It’s hideously easy to create Fake News. All you need is a website with a convincing name (bonus points if you mimic the name of a real news website), professional-looking graphics (bonus points if you mimic the font and graphics of a real news website), and a story that makes just enough sense to be believable.

Here are a couple of tips for spotting Fake News:

  • Does The URL Include Weird Top-Level Domain Names? MSNBC.com (bolding mine) is a real news website belonging to the conglomerate that owns the MSNBC brand. MSNBC.us or .org or .whatever is someone trying to mimic the real thing.
  • Is Anyone Else Covering The Story? If a website publishes a story that no one else is covering, that’s a pretty sure sign that it’s Fake News. And if the website claims that no one else is covering the story because it’s too controversial or the government (or whoever) wants it kept under wraps, that’s an even better hint that it’s Fake News.
  • Look For Disclaimers: Some Fake News websites, like Newslo or The Onion, tell you up front that they are satire. Not all do, though.

In the unlikely event that Barron Trump should actually come down with pneumonia, The Inquisitr will be sure to tell you, and, of course, back up the story with real facts from real sources.

[Featured Image by Getty Images]

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