Days after fake Sherrod story dissolves, RW blogs run with fake "invasion" story
Bloggers Amato, Dvorak invent story that Mexican gangs have "taken over" two ranches near Laredo, TX. In a July 24 post on his "Diggers Realm" blog, Dan Amato wrote that "word is coming in that Los Zetas, the highly trained killers formerly with the Gulf Cartel, have crossed into the United States and taken over at least two ranches in the Laredo, Texas area." He reported that San Diego Minutemen founder Jeff Schwilk had "tipped me off to this story." Similarly, in a July 24 Examiner.com post, Kimberly Dvorak reported that "In what could be deemed an act of war against the sovereign borders of the United States, Mexican drug cartels have seized control of at least two American ranches inside the U.S. territory near Laredo, Texas." She added that "Two sources inside the Laredo Police Department confirmed the incident is unfolding." Amato subsequently updated his post, linking to Dvorak's post and writing that the story "is now 100% confirmed by second source within the Laredo Police Department."
Right-wing media run with "invasion" story. Right wing blogs, including Andrew Breitbart's Big Peace blog, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers, and Jawa Report quickly picked up the story. Acknowledging that they had "not been able to independently confirm" the story, Big Peace's "Sun Tzu" quoted from Amato's story under the headline "BREAKING NEWS: Multiple Ranches in Laredo, Texas Taken Over by Los Zetas." Malkin reported, "rumors are swirling of a Zetas-led invasion into Texas ranches," while Jawa Report wrote that the rumor "should be the headline story put out by the American media."
Laredo Morning Times: "Officials know nothing of rumored Zeta standoff." On July 24, the Laredo Morning Times reported that law enforcement officials had been "bombarded" with calls about the rumor but that "officials with the Laredo Police Department, Webb County Sheriff's Department and Border Patrol said they knew nothing about such an incident, while Erik Vasys, an FBI spokesman in San Antonio, said the agency does not comment on rumors."
Conservative blogger Owens debunks story. In a July 24 post on Breitbart's Big Government blog headlined "No, Texas Hasn't Been Invaded," blogger Bob Owens wrote that he contacted the acting watch commander at the Laredo Police Department, who told him that they would not be involved with such an incident because its alleged location was outside their jurisdiction, but they would "know if such an event is occurring." Owens also wrote that he contacted the county sheriff's department who "told me that there was no invasion and no law enforcement siege, and that deputies were continuing normal operations."
Caught pushing fake story, right wing bloggers acknowledge that it is false. Big Peace updated their post, writing, "Never happened reports Laredo paper" and linking to the Times article. Malkin updated her post to note that the Laredo Police Department denied the rumors, and she linked to Owens' entry debunking the rumor. Rather than correct its post, Weasel Zippers simply removed it without any notation that it had done so.
Amato, Dvorak stand by their reporting. In a later post, Amato defended his original report, writing that he trusted Dvorak's confirmation of his story and indicating that that "there may indeed by a bona-fide news blackout" by the Laredo Police Department. In a July 26 post, Owens reported that he had emailed Dvorak and Amato pointing out that their stories contain "literally no evidence of anything, except for unsupported claims by anonymous sources" and asking when they would issue a retraction. According to Owens, Dvorak replied by writing "I have yet to get anyone at Sheriff's, BP or DHS to say this is false and here is my name and title. I stand by my story, as for others I cannot verify." Owens wrote that in a follow-up email, Dvorak stated, "So to me there is no proof one way or the other."
Even Glenn Beck acknowledges story "is not true." 
On his June 26 radio show, Beck said that "there's another story that some of the ranches have been taken over down on the border this weekend, and apparently that is not true." He added that he had asked Fox News' "brain room" to "look into that this weekend, and they wrote back and said that is not true."
http://mediamatters.org/research/201007260051Obviously a conspiracy. Where are the FEMA camps when you need them?
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