If you haven’t been living under a rock, then I’m sure you may have heard about the terrorist attack in Bowling Green, KY that has been getting a lot of coverage recently thanks to Kellyanne Conway, President Trump’s counselor. If you haven’t heard about it, this is what happened; In 2011, two Iraqi men came to the U.S, specifically the town of Bowling Green, and became radicalized. These men then went on to propagate a massacre in Bowling Green and, subsequently, take many innocent lives. In response, Obama instituted a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program to lower the risk of another attack occurring. If you’re still confused as to why you don’t know anything about this massacre, it isn't totally your fault. According to Conway, there was almost no media coverage of the event; which explains why there was no public outrage and why no one was well informed about Obama’s refugee ban. So don’t worry, you aren't alone. In fact, not even the residents of Bowling Green were aware of this event; this is because it never actually happened.
If anyone thought this was the end of alternative facts, fake news, or any other ploy by the Republican party to justify their incorrect statements, we were all wrong. Although the public was assured that we were going to see the end of fake news stories meant to evoke radical feelings on both sides of the political spectrum, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight with this latest fiasco. Conway’s attempt at citing an event to showcase the problems of the Obama administration and justify Trump’s travel ban on Muslims in 7 predetermined countries has completely backfired and the public is not pleased. As a result of these comments, many of Conway’s interviews at major news outlets have been canceled because of her lack of credibility.
The event that Conway has been speaking about is much less violent than what she has been saying. In actuality, two Iraqi men did go to Bowling Green, KY in 2011; however, these men were already radicalized prior to coming into the U.S and were arrested by federal agents because they were purchasing weapons with the intention of sending them to the IS.
To put this into greater perspective, the ‘massacre’ of Bowling Green is not the only fact that was fudged by Conway in several of her interviews where she sites this event in response to questions regarding Trump’s ban. In addition to the fabrication of a terrorist attack that took “many soldiers’ lives”, Conway also spoke about a ban Obama instituted for six months after this supposed event. This is completely untrue. While there was a considerable ‘slowing down’ of visa approval for Iraqi refugees, there was never a complete standstill. After the events in Bowling Green, Congress pushed Obama to re-vet an estimated 58,000 immigrants that had already gone through the approval process, as well as, employ increased security when approving Iraqi visas. This did not mean there were no Iraqi immigrants coming into the U.S for a six month period; it just slowed down the rate at which they were being approved for visas. With this considered, Conway’s claim that there was no coverage of the event can also be refuted; the congressional uproar that occurred shows clear coverage on the incident.
While the media and the public are not poised to forgive and forget Conway’s comments, Trump has made an attempt to cushion the blow of this falsification made by his counselor. Last Monday, Trump made a statement regarding terrorist attacks in Europe and how many of them have gone unreported. While many of these attacks did not receive as much widespread coverage like the bombings in Brussels or the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, there have been 78 reports of terrorist attacks, globally, and only one that went unreported, the massacre in Bowling Green.
This doesn't mark the end of fake news, not by a long shot. We, as a society, have been tasked with determining what is real and what is not and if we can believe the words of our own government. While this doesn't seem fair or ‘right’, it is the reality we are now living in and we have to navigate through it.
