Photo Credit: Marvel/Disney
The case of Marvel’s “Black Panther” being added to the FBI’s watch list is satirical news. There is no truth that the names of actors, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o, were added to the FBI’s watch list because of their association with “Black Panther.
Where did this satirical news originate? Reductress published the satirical news on Feb. 20, 2018, reporting that following the success of Marvel’s “Black Panther,” the case was making the FBI’s domestic terror organizations watch list. You can read the satirical news below.
In response to a record-breaking premiere weekend, the FBI has added the cast of Black Panther to its domestic terror organizations watch list.
“It is our understanding that the cast of this film has raised over $235 million for their efforts to spread their black extremist message,” said FBI director Christopher Wray. “That is not something that we can tolerate.”
Sources report that A-list celebrities Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o have been added to the watch list, with little justification other than seeming “suspicious.”
“It’s an imperfect process,” says one source within the FBI. “But if anything uses the words ‘black’ and ‘panther’ we’re all over it.”
However, there is no truth to the above story. What is the problem with the story? For one thing, the FBI nor its director made any recent announcement that the “Black Panther” case was added to the watch list. Rather, Reductress was having fun at the success of the recent Marvel superhero film and the real life group known as the “Black Panther Party,” a political organization.
Dressed in black berets and black leather jackets, the Black Panthers organized armed citizen patrols of Oakland and other U.S. cities. At its peak in 1968, the Black Panther Party had roughly 2,000 members. The organization later declined as a result of internal tensions, deadly shootouts and FBI counterintelligence activities aimed at weakening the organization.
Here are some examples of people sharing the satirical news on social media.
This is hilarious but honestly how long before we find out someone in the Trump administration actually made this mistake? https://t.co/zYciql6ijL
— Emma Cueto (@Emma_Cueto) February 20, 2018
How sad is it that I could see Jeff Sessions trying this 😭 https://t.co/8hU8yrdeCh
— Kwame (@Kwammentary) February 20, 2018
— John Wellington Ennis (@johnennis) February 20, 2018
“It is our understanding that the cast of this film has raised over $235 million for their efforts to spread their black extremist message” https://t.co/s8RYNvd1w1
— Jason Broccardo (@zoocoup) February 20, 2018
Finally and most importantly, Reductress carries the following disclaimer on its about page:
The first and only satirical women’s magazine, Reductress was founded in 2013 by Beth Newell and Sarah Pappalardo. The mission of Reductress is to take on the outdated perspectives and condescending tone of popular women’s media, through the eyes of the funniest women in comedy today. Also, we want people to think we’re pretty.
Marvel’s “Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
“Black Panther” stars Boseman in the title role along with Jordan, Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, with Angela Bassett, with Forest Whitaker and, returning from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Andy Serkis.
What did you think of the satirical news that the cast of “Black Panther” was added to the FBI’s watch list? Did you believe the satirical news or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.