ABCnews.com.co

This article is about the fake news website. For the American broadcaster this site spoofs, see ABC News (United States). For other uses, see ABC News (disambiguation).

ABCnews.com.co was a fake news website which mimicked the URL, design and logo of the ABC News website.^[1][2] Many stories from ABCnews.com.co were widely shared before being debunked.^[3]

ABCnews.com.co

Type of site	Fake news website
Available in	English
Dissolved	October 2017 (2017-10)
Owner	Paul Horner
URL	abcnews.com.co (defunct) Archived Link
Launched	2016 (2016)
Current status	Defunct (now redirects to hollywoodgazette.com)

The website's disclaimer page gave the address of the Westboro Baptist Church as its primary location.^[4]

Paul Horner, the owner of the site, claimed to make $10,000 per month^{[lower-alpha 1]} from advertising traffic.^[6][7]

In October 2017, ABCnews.com.co was shut down,^[8] and its domain expired a few days later.^[9]

Examples of fake news stories

ABCnews.com.co promulgated stories about prominent figures and organizations, including:

• Anti-Trump protesters hired from Craigslist paid as much as $3,500^[6][7]
• El Chapo escaped from Mexican prison again^[10]
• President Barack Obama signed an order banning assault weapon sales^[3]
• Michael Jordan intended to move the Charlotte Hornets out of North Carolina if the state did not revoke a law disallowing transgender people access to restrooms^[11]
• The Supreme Court of the United States revoked the tax-exempt status of the Church of Scientology^[12]

See also

• List of fake news websites

Notes

1. equivalent to $12,696 in 2023^[5]

References

1. Murtha, Jack (May 26, 2016). "How fake news sites frequently trick big-time journalists". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
2. Osmundsen, Mathias; Bor, Alexander; Vahlstrup, Peter Bjerregaard; Bechmann, Anja; Petersen, Michael Bang (May 7, 2021). "Partisan Polarization Is the Primary Psychological Motivation behind Political Fake News Sharing on Twitter". American Political Science Review. 115 (3). Cambridge University Press: 999–1015. doi:10.1017/S0003055421000290. ISSN 0003-0554. S2CID 235527523.
3. "Here's how to outsmart fake news in your Facebook feed". KXLH. Archived from the original on 2016-11-20. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
4. "Contact - ABC News". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2016-11-20. Retrieved November 20, 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
5. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
6. Jacobson, Louis (November 17, 2016). "No, someone wasn't paid $3,500 to protest Donald Trump; it's fake news". Politifact. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
7. Dewey, Caitlin (November 17, 2016). "Facebook fake-news writer: 'I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me'". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
8. "abcnews.com.co". abcnews.com.co. Archived from the original on 2017-10-25.
9. "abcnews.com.co - domain expired". abcnews.com.co. Archived from the original on 2017-11-01.
10. Woody, Christopher (July 9, 2016). "Mexico's government shut down rumors of 'El Chapo' Guzmán's escape with this one photo". Business Insider. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
11. Routhier, Ray (June 5, 2016). "Katy Perry's moving to Maine?! No, actually. Fake news strikes again". The Portland Press Herald. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
12. Wade, Peter (March 12, 2016). "Don't Believe the Fake Reports. The Church of Scientology Is Still Tax Exempt". Esquire. Retrieved May 17, 2018.

External links

• Official Website abcnews.com.co (defunct) Archived Link