CLAIM: Anheuser-Busch is closing half of its U.S. breweries following backlash over a Bud Light marketing initiative.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The claim stems from a website that publishes satirical content. No such widespread brewery closure has been announced by Anheuser-Busch.
THE FACTS: Blog posts claiming that Bud Light’s parent company is closing half of its breweries in the U.S. have spread widely across social media in recent days, following the brand’s partnership with a transgender influencer and subsequent calls for boycotts by some prominent conservatives.
One such blog post features the headline: “Anheuser Busch Closing Half Of Its Breweries In The US After ‘Worst Goof In Marketing History’.” The post, which circulated widely on Facebook, went on to claim that the company is “shuttering 5 plants across the country” and that more than 20,000 jobs will be lost.
But the claim is fabricated. It was first published by a website that is part of a network of websites called America’s Last Line of Defense, which publish satirical content that is frequently mistaken as real. The website’s about page states: “Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real.”
The blog post features other indicators that it is satirical....
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