Claim: Congress will begin impeachment hearings against President Obama in March 2013.
Example:[Collected via e-mail, February 2013]
Is this true: On Monday March 11, 2013, Congress is reportedly beginning impeachment
proceedings against Barack Obama.
Origins: The claim that Congress is scheduled to begin impeachment hearings against Barack Obama on 11 March 2013 over his use of U.S. military forces in Libya and Syria and his involvement in the Fast and Furious scandal stems from an article entitled "Obama Impeachment Hearings Begin" which was published by the Weekly World News on 5 February 2013 and began as follows:
On Monday March 11, 2013, Congress is reportedly beginning impeachment proceedings against Barack Obama.
Members of Congress are reportedly beginning impeachment against Barack Obama based on the grounds of unauthorized military use in Libya and Syria. Congress is also looking at his involvement in Fast and Furious.
According to Congressional representatives Barack Obama has violated the rules set that clearly state that the President must seek Congressional approval before using military force. Now he says it was OK because he had international support. But how does that make it okay? They aren't our Congress. They don't determine what is right or wrong for us.
Sources close to aides in Congress say the law clearly states "any use of military force by Obama without explicit consent and authorization of Congress constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, Section 4 of the Constitution."
However, nothing published by the Weekly World News should be confused with reality, as that web site is the online successor to the popular entertainment tabloid whose stock in trade was (and remains) fantastically fictional stories such as "Alien Spaceships to Attack Earth in March 2013," "Lindsay Lohan to Give Birth to Neanderthal," and "How to Sell Your Soul to the Devil!"
Occasionally, as in this case, Weekly World News spoofs escape into the wilds of the Internet, and those who encounter them online in unattributed form (or who are unfamiliar with the nature of the Weekly World News) mistake them for real news stories.
