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| - A rumor that entertainment icon Oprah Winfrey is trying to buy up tens of thousands of damaged properties in hurricane-affected areas is circulating online. Users shared this claim in October 2024, in the weeks following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
For example, at least hundreds of Facebook users shared a post from the America's Last Line of Defense Facebook page, reading, "Oprah Winfrey is trying to buy up tens of thousands of damaged properties in hurricane-affected areas. 'She's offering us next to nothing to sell.'"
Several of the Facebook users who shared the post added their own remarks about Winfrey's purported plans, including, "CRIMINAL," "She is the face of evil," "Yea wonder why" and "Better DEW what they say or else!"
However, the rumor about Winfrey seizing land in hurricane-affected areas originated with America's Last Line of Defense — a network of Facebook pages and websites that describe their output as being humorous or satirical in nature. The Facebook page that shared the rumor has a "Satire/Parody" label and a bio that says, "Nothing on this page is real."
One user's share of the satirical post referenced a false claim positing that the U.S. government sought to seize land in Chimney Rock, North Carolina, all to allow lithium mining. The user remarked, "And they called that storm and the lithium a conspiracy theory... I said if the checks come then its not a theory and now I have been proven right again! I'm getting exhausted by the winning!"
Other users commenting under America's Last Line of Defense's post also appeared to interpret the rumor as fact. One person said, "I used to love Oprah but got a bad gut feeling many years ago and I don't want anything to do with her because of it!" Another user posted a baseless claim about the 2023 Maui wildfires without providing any evidence whatsoever, writing, "I think she did that in Maui when they had the fire there."
'Taters' and Trolling
The America's Last Line of Defense Facebook page has historically aimed to troll conservative users they call "taters" — a term referencing people who supposedly believe their untrue stories. For example, The Dunning-Kruger Times' website – a website associated with the network of satire and parody – describes "taters" as follows:
"Taters" are the conservative fans of America's Last Line of Defense. They are fragile, frightened, mostly older caucasian Americans. They believe nearly anything. While we go out of our way to educate them that not everything they agree with is true, they are still old, typically ignorant, and again — very afraid of everything.
Our mission is to do our best to show them the light, through shame if necessary, and to have a good time doing it, because…old and afraid or not, these people are responsible for the patriarchy we're railing so hard against. They don't understand logic and they couldn't care less about reason. Facts are irrelevant. BUT…they do understand shame.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims about Winfrey in the past, including the assertion that one of her charity runs named "Coats for Kids" took in over $140 million but only produced 310 jackets with the money.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
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