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Amy Sherman
By Amy Sherman November 15, 2017

No, Rosa Parks' granddaughter didn't praise Trump

A fake news story says that the granddaughter of civil rights icon Rosa Parks praised President Donald Trump following racial unrest.

"Rosa Parks’ Granddaughter SLAMS racist Democrats, Endorses Trump," states the Nov. 4 headline on the website Reaganwasright. Facebook users flagged the post as being potentially fabricated, as part of the social network’s efforts to combat fake news.

The article states that Parks’ granddaughter defended Trump to denounce claims from "Antifa" protesters that Trump is a "racist bigot" and a "traitor."

The article quoted Parks’ supposed granddaughter, Muriel Parks-Gouldman, speaking to students at Oxford University: "This violence and destruction I see from my people is just unacceptable. My grandmother took a stand by sitting down, but she would never ‘sit down’ while our once-proud people cover their faces and commit violent acts in the streets."

But the story is fake because Rosa Parks was childless when she died in 2005 at age 92. The photo in the story is of Ohio state lawmaker Nina Turner.

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Rosa Parks is a famous African-American civil rights icon who in 1955 refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man in Montgomery, Ala. The goal of the story appears to be to shock readers that a grandchild of Parks would side with Trump, who called the violence in Charlottesville a result of "hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides."

In August, we fact-checked a similar claim that "Rosa Parks’ daughter praises (President Donald) Trump’s response to Charlottesville." In that article, Parks’ daughter had a similar name: Muriel Parks-Rosenberg.

We messaged the website on Facebook and received a reply directing us to scroll to the bottom of the page. The disclaimer states: "Nothing on this site is real. It is satire. Call it "fan fiction" if you prefer."

The headline says, "Rosa Parks’ granddaughter SLAMS racist Democrats, endorses Trump." But Parks didn’t have children. For viewers who scroll to the bottom of the page, they will find a disclaimer that describes the website as satire. We rate this headline Pants on Fire!

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Pants on Fire
BREAKING: Rosa Parks’ Granddaughter SLAMS Racist Democrats, Endorses Trump
in a blog post
Saturday, November 4, 2017

Our Sources

Reaganwasright, "BREAKING: Rosa Parks’ Granddaughter SLAMS Racist Democrats, Endorses Trump," Nov. 4, 2017

Reaganwasright, Facebook and Home page, Accessed Nov. 15, 2017

Facebook message from Reaganwasright to PolitiFact, Nov. 15, 2017

YouTube, Nina Turner, Feb. 18, 2017

AP, "Rosa Parks statue unveiled at Capitol," Feb. 27, 2013

PolitiFact, "Fake news: Rosa Parks had no daughter who could praise Trump’s comments," Aug. 23, 2017

ForFreedomWorld.com, "BREAKING: Rosa Parks’ Daughter Praises Trump’s Response to Charlottesville," Aug. 20, 2017

New York Times, "Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement, Dies," Oct. 25, 2005

Columbus Free Press, "Freep Heroes: Nina Turner," Feb. 1, 2017

PolitiFact, "If you're fooled by fake news, this man probably wrote it," May 31, 2017

PolitiFact, "In Context: President Donald Trump’s statement on ‘many sides’ in Charlottesville, Va.," Aug. 14, 2017

OurLandOfTheFree.com, "BREAKING: Rosa Parks’ Daughter Praises Trump’s Response to Charlottesville," Aug. 19, 2017

Loudoun Times-Mirror, "Virginia GOP shares fake ‘Rosa Parks’ daughter’ story on Facebook," Aug. 21, 2017

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More by Amy Sherman

No, Rosa Parks' granddaughter didn't praise Trump

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