On 23 August 2017, Facebook users began sharing links to articles and forum threads about a purported incident involving journalist Katie Couric, Hillary Clinton, a “hot mic,” and slurs of Presidents Obama and Trump:

The claim that Clinton, a former Secretary of State in the Obama administration and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, referred to President Trump as a “f*cking orange baboon” and President Obama as a “n*gger” in an outburst inadvertently captured on videotape during a break in an interview with Katie Couric, originated with the Our Land of the Free web site, in a post credited to “Flagg Eagleton”:

Hillary Clinton didn’t realize that her mic was hot earlier when she had a conversation with Katie Couric that she probably wishes she never had. Couric, when the show went to commercial, asked Clinton how she had been doing personally since the election. Her response not only surprised Couric but also a booth technician named Myron Beetlethong. Beetlethong, who was listening curiously and recording for posterity, caught this: “I’m not bad. That f*cking orange baboon stole my legacy and that n*gger Obama will make sure I’m forgotten. I’m just dandy. (notable, audible laughter.)”

The article went on to assert that tale was unprovable (naturally), because the videotape documenting the alleged verbal outburst was seized by Clinton’s hired “goons”:

“They came in with official looking badges and demanded all of the sound and video footage. I told them it was property of CBS, but they insisted that since Clinton’s interview will never air that the network had no right to it. I tried to say no but they just pushed me aside and took what they wanted.”

None of this was true. Our Land of the Free’s claim about Clinton’s using racist slurs on a “hot mic” was quite similar to a November 2016 piece from the fake news site America’s Last Line of Defense, which told a similarly false story about Clinton disparaging the music of popular singer Beyonce using racial slurs. The Our Land of the Free web site (just like the America’s Last Line of Defense web site) carries disclaimers noting that the site’s content is satirical material aimed at conservatives: