Several media outlets, both mainstream and left-wing, fell for the fake news Friday that former President Donald Trump had sold or transferred ownership of his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to his son, Donald Trump Jr.
The story originated in a mistaken report on the Zillow real estate website. But it was “to good to check” for many websites:
- WPLG Local 10: “Trump sells Mar-a-Lago estate weeks before surrendering to authorities in Fulton County, listing reveals“
- New York Post: “Mystery Mar-a-Lago sale notice raises questions about Trump cash flow“
- Newsweek: “Donald Trump Sold Mar-a-Lago Before Arrest, Listing Reveals“
- Radar Online: “Trump Secretly Transferred Ownership of Mar-a-Lago to His Son Days Before Arrest“
- Êxpress (UK): “Donald Trump seemingly transferred Mar A Lago estate to his son before his arrest“
- Raw Story: “Legal analysts question if Trump ‘selling’ Mar-a-Lago to Don Jr. was ‘fraudulent‘”
- OK! Magazine: “‘Fraudulent Transfer?’: Donald Trump Allegedly ‘Sold’ Mar-a-Lago to Donald Trump Jr. Before Fourth Arrest“
- BoingBoing.net: “Shuffling assets, Trump passes Mar-A-Largo to idiot son“
- Uproxx: “Oh Look, Trump Apparently ‘Sold’ Mar-A-Lago Prior To His Latest Arrest“
- Celeb: “TRUMP MOVES MAR-A-LAGO OWNERSHIP IN JAIL-TIME PRECAUTION“
- Daily Kos: “Who Owns Mar-a-Lago Now?“
Breitbart News reported exclusively that the story was fake before Zillow confirmed the information was wrong.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
