Fake news purveyors push debunked claim that Londoners were chanting for Trump after the terror attack

Sarah Wasko / Media Matters

Multiple fake news purveyors -- many of which have served as propaganda outlets for President Donald Trump -- pushed a debunked claim that London residents chanted in support of Trump after the June 4 terrorist attack in the city.

On June 4, Trump rebuked London Mayor Sadiq Khan by falsely claiming that Khan said there was “no reason to be alarmed” after the attack in the city, and then attacked the “pathetic excuse” he said Khan offered for his statement. In fact, Khan had said that there was “no reason to be alarmed” about the increased police presence following the attack. Far-right figures and fringe outlets posted a video supposedly showing that “Londoners took the streets” after the attack and chanted Trump’s name and said they “love” him. Fact-checking website Snopes debunked the claim, saying that the video “had nothing to do with” the attack, and instead was from a March “counter-protest at a much larger anti-racism rally in London.”

Nonetheless, multiple fake news purveyors -- which regularly function as pro-Trump propaganda outlets -- pushed the false allegation, and many appeared to publish their articles after Snopes had already debunked the claim. They claimed that the video came “the day after the attacks” and that it showed that not all Europeans “stand against Trump … regarding his Muslim ban” and made “it clear whose policies they prefer.” They also claimed that the video shows “that those who live in London are mad at” Khan, urged people to “notice: They weren’t chanting their mayor’s name,” and said the media are “ignoring this.”