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The Bowling Green massacre is a fictitious incident of
Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism, radical Islamic terrorism, or jihadist terrorism) refers to terrorist acts carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists. Since at least the 1990s, Islami ...
mentioned by
Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth Conway (née Fitzpatrick; born January 20, 1967) is an American political consultant and pollster who served as Senior Counselor to the President in the first presidency of Donald Trump for three years from 2017 and 2020. ...
, then– counselor to President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, in interviews with ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
'' and
TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...
on January 29, 2017, and in an interview on the
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
news program ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' is an American television talk show hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving to CNBC, and then to M ...
'' on February 2, 2017. Conway cited it as justification for a travel and immigration ban from seven Muslim-majority countries enacted by
United States president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
Donald Trump. However, no such massacre occurred. The day after the interview, Conway said she misspoke and had been referring to the 2011 arrest of two Iraqi refugees in
Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...
, on charges including "attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to
al-Qaeda in Iraq Al-Qaeda in Iraq (; AQI), was a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization affiliated with al-Qaeda. It was founded on 17 October 2004, and was led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi until its disbandment on 15 October 2006 after he was killed in a targ ...
." She stated that she had mentioned the incident because it led previous President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
to tighten immigration procedures for Iraqi citizens. Her false statement went
viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...
and became the top trending topic on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, with many tweets parodying it. A website was set up anonymously for the purpose of collecting donations for supposed victims.
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
users used the site's safety check feature to act as if the event were real. Mock vigils were held in Kentucky and New York in commemoration. It provoked widespread press reaction, with many relating it to Conway's earlier use of the phrase "
alternative facts "Alternative facts" was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a ''Meet the Press'' interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the atten ...
" to describe false statements by
White House press secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
Sean Spicer Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is an American former political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...
in the wake of Trump's inauguration.


Background


Terrorism-related arrests

In 2011, two Iraqi men who had entered the country as refugees were arrested in
Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...
, on federal terrorism charges after they attempted to send both money and weapons to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Both were convicted of supporting attacks on the U.S. military while they were still in Iraq as well as attempting to provide material support to al-Qaeda in Iraq after they emigrated to the United States. Arrests were made on various charges, including "attempting to provide material support to terrorists and to al Qaeda in Iraq". Before entering the U.S., both had used
improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...
s in Iraq, although this was not known at the time of their admission. Both pleaded guilty; one is serving a life sentence while the other is serving 40 years in
federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for people who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), people considered dangerous (Brazil), or those sen ...
. The two did not attack anyone in the U.S., and there was no evidence that the men traveled back to Iraq or had any contact with the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
after being admitted to the U.S. Neither was charged with plotting attacks inside the United States. In response to the arrests, the administration of Barack Obama re-vetted 58,000 refugees already in the country, imposed vetting on 25,000 other Iraqi citizens still in Iraq, and significantly tightened the processing of Iraqi visa and refugee applications for six months. Obama also instituted a requirement for new background checks on visa applicants from Iraq; as a result, Iraq travel visas were issued more slowly. The changes in visa verification were temporary, and some Iraqi refugees continued to be admitted to the United States throughout the period.


Similar possible misstatements

In September 2014, on ''
Fox News Sunday ''Fox News Sunday'' is a Sunday morning talk show that has aired on the broadcast Fox network since 1996, as a presentation of Fox News Channel. It is the only regularly scheduled Fox News program carried on the main Fox broadcast network. Hos ...
'',
U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Peter King of New York referred to the 2011 arrest of Iraqi nationals in Kentucky as an attempt to "attack either
Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...
or
Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...
". The
fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...
site
PolitiFact.com PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times'') ...
, which evaluated the statement as being false, found that he had said something similar at least seven times previously. On January 29–30, 2017,
White House Press Secretary The White House press secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the executive branch of the United States federal government, especially with regard to the president, senior aides and ...
Sean Spicer Sean Michael Spicer (born September 23, 1971) is an American former political aide who served as the 30th White House Press Secretary and as White House Communications Director under President Donald Trump in 2017. Spicer was communications dire ...
stated that Islamist terrorists perpetrated a terrorist attack in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, even though Atlanta has never had a terrorist attack carried out by Islamists. The initial comment was made on ABC's ''This Week'', and then Spicer repeated the claim on MSNBC's ''Morning Joe'' the following day. Spicer later said that he meant Orlando, referring to the
mass shooting A mass shooting is a violent crime in which one or more attackers use a firearm to Gun violence, kill or injure multiple individuals in rapid succession. There is no widely accepted specific definition, and different organizations tracking su ...
carried out by U.S.-born
Omar Mateen Omar Mir Seddique Mateen (; born Omar Mir Seddique; November 16, 1986 – June 12, 2016) was an American domestic terrorist and mass murderer who killed 49 people and wounded 53 others in a mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub, a gay nightcl ...
. There have been two terrorist attacks in Atlanta: the 1996
Centennial Olympic Park bombing The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a pipe bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, on July 27, 1996, during the Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed one person and injured 111 others; another pers ...
, which was committed by domestic terrorist
Eric Rudolph Eric Robert Rudolph (born September 19, 1966), also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is an American domestic terrorist convicted of a series of bombings across the Southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injur ...
, and the 1958
Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing The Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing occurred on October 12, 1958, in Atlanta, Georgia. The The Temple (Atlanta), Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple, on Peachtree Street, housed a Reform Judaism, Reform Jewish congregation. The ...
. A day later, on January 31, two days before the ''Hardball'' interview with Conway, Kentucky senator
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
referenced the 2011 case in an interview with MSNBC by mentioning "the possibility or the attempted bombing in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where I live". ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''s Fact Checker noted that Paul's statement was truer than Conway's because the Iraqi nationals did discuss bombing an Army target in the United States, even though neither was charged with making actual plans to do so.


False statements by Conway

On January 29, 2017, in an interview with ''
Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...
'', Conway said that Obama had limited Iraqi immigration because "two Iraqi nationals came to this country, joined ISIS, traveled back to the Middle East to get trained and refine their terrorism skills, and come back here, and were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre of taking innocent soldiers' lives away". On the same day, in a brief interview with
TMZ ''TMZ'' is an American entertainment-focused tabloid news organization owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested ...
, Conway stated: "He did that because, I assume, there were two Iraqis who came here, got radicalized, joined ISIS, and then were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green attack on our brave soldiers." Three days later, on February 2, in an interview with
Chris Matthews Christopher John Matthews (born December 17, 1945) is an American political commentator, retired talk show host, and author. Matthews hosted his weeknight hour-long talk show, ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'', on America's Talking and later on M ...
on
MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...
's ''
Hardball with Chris Matthews ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' is an American television talk show hosted by Chris Matthews. The program premiered on the now-defunct America's Talking network in 1994 (as ''Politics with Chris Matthews'') before moving to CNBC, and then to M ...
'', Conway described the "Bowling Green massacre" as an attack of
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
carried out within the United States by
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s. Conway said: Although the interviews with ''Cosmopolitan'' and TMZ were conducted first, they did not become public until after the MSNBC interview aired.


Aftermath

On February 3, the day after her MSNBC interview, Conway said she misspoke and that she meant to use the term "Bowling Green terrorists" instead of "Bowling Green massacre", referring to the two Iraqi men arrested in 2011. ''The Washington Post'' subsequently mentioned previous statements by Conway in which she had made reference to the nonexistent massacre, indicating that "now she doesn't appear to have misspoken at all; she seems to have believed that the Bowling Green massacre was a real thing." Conway's statement that the men became "radicalized" in the United States was found to be incorrect, as they had been radicalized outside of the country. Conway's statement that President Obama "had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program" was misleading, as the Obama administration move was not a formal ban. Contrary to Conway's claims, there is no evidence that the men had traveled back to the Middle East or had any contact with ISIS after being admitted to the United States. Neither of the two was ever charged with plotting attacks inside the United States. Conway, in her February 3 statement, said that there was no coverage of the Bowling Green investigation, which she intended to refer to. However, there were approximately 90 news articles that covered the arrest and charges at the time. Conway's February 3 statement cited an example of that coverage, without acknowledging that her claim that "it didn't get covered" was also incorrect. On February 5, CNN declined an interview with Conway, partly because of "serious questions about her credibility" and partly because CNN could not get
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
, whom the administration made available to all the other major Sunday shows. That day, she said in a text exchange, "Frankly they were terrorists in Bowling Green but their massacre took place in Iraq." Two days later, she was a guest on CNN, interviewed on air by
Jake Tapper Jacob Paul Tapper (born March 12, 1969) is an American journalist. He is the lead Washington anchor for CNN, hosts the weekday television news show ''The Lead with Jake Tapper'', and co-hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program ''State of ...
. In the interview, Conway apologized for repeatedly referencing a "Bowling Green massacre" that did not happen. In a March 2017 interview with ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'', Conway said she intended to say "Bowling Green masterminds" rather than "Bowling Green massacre", in reference to "would-be terrorists who were apprehended before they staged an attack".


Reactions

The video clip of Conway's "massacre" statement went
viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...
online, with the phrase becoming the top trending topic on Twitter. Some Twitter users wrote that, despite Conway's clarification, substituting "terrorists" for "massacre" in her statement did not make sense. Her statement was parodied on Twitter and other platforms with people creating fake tributes. A website was set up anonymously for the purpose of collecting donations for victims of the imaginary massacre; the donation link on the website goes to the
ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. ...
's donation page.
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
users mocked the Bowling Green massacre by using Facebook's safety check feature to pretend the event was real. In
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
's
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
, people held a mock vigil to commemorate the "victims" of the "massacre". Another mock vigil took place on February 3, 2017, in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Responses on the
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
-centric
subreddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
/r/The_Donald were "varied – and rather muted", with some
redditor Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
s speculating that it was an intentional part of a larger strategy by the Trump administration. Samantha Schmidt wrote in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'': "Conway has taken 'alternative facts' to a new level". ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' wrote that her "false statement stands out because it is simultaneously inaccurate and has the potential to be extremely inflammatory".
Brian Stelter Brian Patrick Stelter (born September 3, 1985) is an American journalist best known as the former chief media correspondent for CNN and host of the CNN program ''Reliable Sources'', roles he held from 2013 to 2022. He returned to CNN in 2024. St ...
on
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
criticized the Trump administration for "hammering" the media for mistakes but going easy on Conway's error. British journalist
Marina Hyde Marina Hyde (born Marina Elizabeth Catherine Dudley-Williams; 13 May 1974) is an English journalist. She has been a columnist for ''The Guardian'' since 2000. Early life and education Hyde was born at St George's Hospital, London, the daughter ...
wrote a column in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' criticizing the
Trump administration Presidency of Donald Trump may refer to: * First presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration from 2017 to 2021 * Second presidency of Donald Trump, the United States presidential administration since 2025 See also * ...
for creating a fictional massacre when it was silent on the
Quebec City mosque shooting The Quebec City mosque shooting () was an attack by a single gunman on the evening of January 29, 2017, at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City, a mosque in the Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City, Canada. S ...
. UK talk show ''
The Last Leg ''The Last Leg'' (known during its first series as ''The Last Leg with Adam Hills'' and in Australia as ''Adam Hills: The Last Leg'') is a British late-night television humorous talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Par ...
's''
Alex Brooker Alexander James Brooker (born 15 May 1984) is an English journalist and presenter best known for his television work with Channel 4. Since 2012, Brooker has co-hosted ''The Last Leg'', a Channel 4 panel show with Adam Hills and Josh Widdicombe ...
commented: "Are there so few shootings in America that they're having to make them up?" ''Cosmopolitan'' reporter Kristen Mascia said: "It didn't surprise me that the comment was premeditated and that she'd tried it on multiple writers (who knows who else she auditioned it with, frankly). But others out there may not know this about her, and they should. We must call out the hite Housefor stuff like this because it's egregious and totally unacceptable." After
Chelsea Clinton Chelsea Victoria Clinton (born February 27, 1980) is an American writer. She is the only child of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator. Clinton was born in Little Rock, Ar ...
posted a tweet that stated, in part: "Please don't make up attacks", Conway replied: "Bosnia lie a Great reminder", referring to how Clinton's mother
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
falsely claimed to have landed in Bosnia "under sniper fire" during the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...
. Writing in ''The New York Times'', A. C. Thompson mentioned the 2012 case of a man who the authorities suspected of trafficking in counterfeit goods. His home and his store in
Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in Wood County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 30,808 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, it is part of the Toledo metropolitan area and ...
, were raided, and 18 firearms were found in his possession. Federal authorities believed that he was planning on killing African Americans and Jews. The man, who the prosecutors called a white supremacist, pleaded guilty to weapons and counterfeit charges, but prosecutors failed to establish that he was a political terrorist. The mayor of Bowling Green, Kentucky, issued a statement clarifying that "there was no massacre in Bowling Green", adding that he understood "how during a live interview one can misspeak and we appreciate the clarification". Conway's statement was parodied in two segments of season 42 of ''
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''. In the
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In North ...
for that season's episode 13,
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
, playing the role of Donald Trump, said that in the Bowling Green massacre, " many people died, but really they're the lucky ones. They don't have to see how bad ''
The Apprentice An apprentice is someone who is in training for a trade, profession. The Apprentice or Apprentice may also refer to: Television * ''The Apprentice'' (American TV series), the original reality television series * ''The Apprentice'' (franchise), ...
'' has gotten". In episode 14's cold open,
Melissa McCarthy Melissa Ann McCarthy (born August 26, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Melissa McCarthy, numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Award ...
, playing the role of Sean Spicer, recited a list of terrorist incidents that "you he news medianever even write about", referencing a list of 78 supposedly under-reported terrorist incidents that the White House had released earlier that week. McCarthy, as Spicer, said: "The Bowling Green massacre—not the Kellyanne one, the real one. The Horror in
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...
. The Slaughter at
Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy television comedy, comedy puppet television series about interconnected so ...
.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson. It was originally recorded by his Canadian-American roots rock group The Band in 1969 and released on their eponymous second album. Levon Helm provided the lead vo ...
. Okay?!"


See also

*
Alternative facts "Alternative facts" was a phrase used by U.S. Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a ''Meet the Press'' interview on January 22, 2017, in which she defended White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's false statement about the atten ...
* Last Night in Sweden, a somewhat similar reference by Donald Trump


References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= Quoted from the following sources: "Conway referred to something that didn't happen—the 'Bowling Green massacre'." * {{cite news , last=Resnick , first=Gideon , title=Kellyanne Conway Refers to Fake Bowling Green Massacre , url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/02/kellyanne-conway-appears-to-invent-fake-bowling-green-massacre.html , work=
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
, date=February 2, 2017 , access-date=February 2, 2017 , ref=none , archive-date=February 3, 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203035954/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/02/02/kellyanne-conway-appears-to-invent-fake-bowling-green-massacre.html , url-status=live * {{cite web , last=Beauchamp , first=Zack , title=Kellyanne Conway made up a fake terrorist attack to justify Trump's 'Muslim ban' , url=https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/2/14494478/bowling-green-massacre , website= Vox , date=February 2, 2017 , access-date=February 2, 2017 , ref=none , archive-date=September 23, 2021 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923094647/https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/2/14494478/bowling-green-massacre , url-status=live * {{cite news , last=Kessler , first=Glenn , title=Kellyanne Conway's claim of a 'Bowling Green massacre' , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/03/kellyanne-conways-claim-of-a-bowling-green-massacre/ , newspaper=
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
, date=February 3, 2017 , access-date=February 3, 2017 , ref=none , archive-date=December 19, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219210051/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/03/kellyanne-conways-claim-of-a-bowling-green-massacre/ , url-status=live
2017 in American politics 2017 hoaxes Bowling Green, Kentucky First Trump administration controversies Executive Order 13769 Speech error