A Tale of Two Hoaxes

Jemma Beale

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, we are now in the Year of the Pig. However, this is surely the Decade and most probably the Century of Bullshit. As such, there are a huge number of hoaxes out there, too many to count. However, some of them, a select few, for whatever reasons, receive far more attention than the rest. A recent hoax, perpetrated (or attempted, rather) by one Jussie Smollett really seems to have hit the sweet spot. Jussie Smollett, who is actually biracial (and thus, a particularly good stand-in for Trump’s predecessor in the White House) was initially portrayed as the innocent victim of racist Trump supporting thugs. However, soon there was narrative breakdown. Since the story broke some weeks ago, readers of…

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