Obama Funds Muslim Museum Out Of Pocket? Nice Try, Tea Party [Hoaxed]

President Obama is turning that government shutdown frown upside-down, using some newly freed-up time to fund one of his favorite pet projects: The International Museum of Muslim Cultures. At least that’s what you might be tempted to believe if you’ve seen the headline making Facebook rounds this week.

I’ve seen it shared on more than a comfortable handful of profiles. Well meaning, but easily frightened parties share a link from a right-leaning blog (like this one) which declares that President Obama is going keep the Muslim Museum open during the government shutdown out of his own pocket, if need be.

Other publications that aggregated the story point to its source, the official-sounding NationalReport.net.

It’s a satire site. There’s a disclaimer page which reads:

National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental . The views expressed by writers on this site are theirs alone and are not reflective of the fine journalistic and editorial integrity of National Report. Advice given is NOT to be construed as professional. If you are in need of professional help (and you may be if you are on this page), please consult a professional. National Report is intended for a mature audience and not for children under the age of 18.

The author of the article, Paul Horner, is a satire writer. Here’s his bio, from right beneath the article:

Mr. Horner has won numerous awards for journalism including a Peabody Award and a Pulitzer Prize. He was recently in the media for his heroics in stopping a robbery by quoting Pulp Fiction.

Horner also attributes quotes like these to President Obama:

Folks, this is a time to focus on things that are important to us in America. Sure, we would all like to see the government open, it just is not that simple. What is simple is me funding the International Museum of Muslim Cultures so that it can stay open during this horrible time in our nation’s history, all thanks to the echo chamber which is called the Tea Party.

I don’t need to actually say that quote was pulled out of Horner’s ass, do I?

Also, here’s the photo used in the article along with a better, larger photo of the structure it shows:

As you can see in the caption, Horner pegs this building as the International Museum of Muslim Cultures. This building is actually the Milwaukee Art Museum.

There is an actual International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson, Mississippi, but it’s independently funded.

So if you see a confused friend on Facebook or Twitter sharing the Obama/Muslim Museum story, feel free to respond with this link and show your impeccable taste in social media news sites.