12 White Female Bodies in Garage Freezer Tagged “Black Lives Matter”-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
Los Angeles Police found 12 white female bodies in a garage freezer with “Black Lives Matter” written on them.
The Truth:
False rumors that Los Angeles Police found a dozen white females tagged “Black Lives Matter” in a garage freezer came from a website known for publishing fictional news stories.
The story appeared at Now 8 News in September 2017 under the headline, “Los Angeles Police: 12 White Female Bodies in Garage Freezer Tagged, “Black Lives Matter.” The report, which was quickly shared more than 2,000 times on Facebook, falsely claimed that police found a man under the influence of drugs after responding to reports of suspicious activity:
Upon arriving at the scene, police knocked on the door to be greeted by a man who seemed “under the influence of drugs.” Upon further investigation, they found 12 White Female Bodies in Garage Freezer Tagged, Black Lives Matter.
The bodies had several things in common – they were all white women in their mid-20s, blonde hair and all had the writings marked on them which read “Black Lives Matter” and “BLM.” Mathis, who was known for his involvement in the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement was arrested without incident and booked into the county jail on no bond.
The first clue that the story is a hoax is a mugshot that appears with it. The mugshot shows a man who was arrested on charges of drug dealing and sex trafficking a minor in 2015 — not a murder suspect.
The second clue is the shoddy reputation of Now 8 News. We’ve investigated many fictional reports from Now 8 News site over the years. The site doesn’t clearly identify itself as fake or satirical news, which misleads readers. In fact, the site falsely reported in September 2016 that 19 white female bodies tagged with Black Lives Matter were found in a garage freezer. The September 2017 version was just the latest take on an old hoax.