Flo Rida isn’t performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration—but thousands of people probably think he is.
On Friday afternoon, the top trending story on Facebook claimed, assuredly, “Donald Trump Pays Flo Rida $1 Million To Perform At Inauguration.”
The link out is to a four-line article from a CBS affiliate aggregating another “report” from Radar Online. It reads:
A source close to rapper Flo Rida tells Radar he’s set to perform at the inauguration, and will even get $1 million for it!
The payout seems quite convenient for the “Low” hit-maker, who owed nearly $1.2 million in tax liens back in 2014…
Nevertheless, Trump’s swearing-in ceremony will be well attended by high-profile guests, including Caitlyn Jenner. As Radar readers know, the transgender reality star previously praised the Republican candidate during his election campaign, calling the business mogul “better” on women’s issues than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Some red flags: 1) Flo Rida notably decided not to perform at the Miss USA pageant in 2015 following Trump’s characterization of Mexicans as “rapists,” 2) The patently untrue mention of the “high-profile guests” attending Inauguration 3) The Caitlyn Jenner-Hillary Clinton jab. Additionally, Radar Online is the sister site to the National Enquirer, a publication that is famously cozy with the President-elect.
The report, of course, is bullshit; a rep for Flo Rida denied the whole thing to Gossip Cop (the most famous performers at Trump’s inauguration are currently Toby Keith, 16-year-old Jackie Evancho, and a sweaty muscle tank). But Facebook users who rely upon the platform for news wouldn’t know that—in fact, Facebook is presenting the discredited article as news.
Facebook has had a lengthy problem dealing with fake news that, somehow, keeps finding its way to the top of everybody’s feeds. But in December, the social network announced via blog post that it would attempt to crack down on the problem, which continues to lead Americans to believe that Hillary Clinton is a wraith, vaccines make you a girl and, of course, that Flo Rida is performing at Inauguration.
Jezebel has contacted Facebook and Flo Rida for comment, and will update should we hear back.
