According to a report currently being shared vigorously via social media, US President Obama has ordered a ban on the sending of all Christmas Cards to US military members deployed overseas. The report claims that the White House implemented the ban because sending traditional Christmas greetings will upset Muslims in host countries. Supposedly, ‘all overseas military mail will be monitored for references to Christmas, Jesus Christ, or pork products which are known to offend Muslims’.
The report has caused a good deal of angsts and consternation as it travels with many condemning what they perceive as the Obama administration’s unforgivable attack on Christmas and traditional values.
However, the claims in the report are utter nonsense. No such ban has been implemented.
The report is a work of fiction published by a fake-news website that calls itself Fox News the FB Page. In fact, the parody website has no connection to Fox News whatsoever. Nor is it a Facebook Page. Nothing published on the site should be taken seriously.
The site does not include any clear disclaimer that might alert readers that its stories are untrue. Thus, many people think that the site is an actual Fox News outlet and thus share its content in the mistaken belief that it is true.
For the record, no credible mainstream news outlet supports the claims in the fake report in any way. And while, as one astute commentator has suggested, it might be hard to tell the difference between Fox News and a Fox News parody, there is nothing about the supposed ban on the real Fox News site either.
Given the amount of fake-news stories and other nonsense that circulates online, it is always wise to verify any strange or unusual reports that come your way before you share them with others. Searching via a news portal such as Google News will usually reveal if there is any substance to a circulating story.
Original Source : http://www.hoax-slayer.net/fake-news-obama-bans-christmas-cards-to-overseas-servicemen/