The next day, the New American, a biweekly owned by the ultra-conservative John Birch Society, reported the bogus drone story. That story credited Nebraska’s congressional delegation for the news. The gist of the New American story was that drones were being used to spy on large feedlots where cattle urine and feces are highly concentrated and potentially threaten water supplies.

On June 6, the story was picked up by the Daily Caller, a news site founded by Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel, former chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. The Daily Caller made the news last week when its reporter Neil Munro heckled Obama during a White House news conference in the Rose Garden.

Investors Business Daily also picked up the story. Montanans might recognize the politically conservative publication’s featured columnist, Andrew Malcolm, former communications director for former Republican Gov. Marc Racicot.

Fox News also reported that the EPA was using military-style drones to spy on farms and ranches in the Midwest. Fox linked the bogus EPA drones to U.S. military drone use.