‘Let’s Go Brandon’: Mischievous Meme Mocks Fake News and a Failing Presidency

It all started with a profanity that can’t be repeated here.

NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast was questioning NASCAR driver Brandon Brown about winning the Xfinity series at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 9. Crowd members began chanting, “F*** Joe Biden,” a phrase that had been popping up at sporting events across the country in recent weeks.

Stavast, either misinterpreting the chant or trying to clean up the phrase for broadcast standards, told NBC viewers the crowd was chanting, “Let’s Go Brandon” in Brown’s honor.

A meme was born.

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FAKE NEWS: Viral ‘What Actually Happened’ Meme Misconstrues Facts Surrounding Mexican Soldiers’ Detainment of U.S. Troops

by Brad Sylvester   A meme posted by the Facebook page Sick of the Slant claimed to portray what “actually happened” when two Americans were detained by Mexican soldiers at the southern border.   Verdict: False The version of events alleged in the meme are contradicted by news reporting and statements from U.S. Northern Command. The meme erroneously states that there were only two Mexican personnel involved in the incident, that the Americans were members of the National Guard and that no weapons were pointed at anyone. Fact Check: On April 13, two American soldiers were sitting in an unmarked vehicle on the American side of the U.S.-Mexico border when a group of Mexican soldiers approached and detained them at gunpoint, according to U.S. officials. The Mexicans may have erroneously believed that the Americans had inadvertently strayed into Mexican territory. The story was first reported by Newsweek on April 19 after it obtained a copy of the incident report. President Donald Trump tweeted about the incident April 24, stating, “Mexico’s Soldiers recently pulled guns on our National Guard Soldiers, probably as a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers on the Border.” Mexico’s Soldiers recently pulled guns on our National Guard Soldiers, probably as a diversionary tactic for…

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