Did a Muslim Principal Ban Crucifixes in a Virginia School?
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An easily identifiable Michael Jackson lyric was the basis of a rather unfunny attempt at humor by a well-known fake news outlet.
The claim
A Muslim principal in Virginia banned crucifixes, saying that there was no place for religion in schools.
What the fact-checkers found
On January 30 2019, Facebook page “The Blacksphere” shared the following meme, purportedly depicting a Virginia principal named Mamasai Mamakusa:
The meme was likely outrage-bait which implied that the nonexistent principal’s hijab constituted a form of religious expression, one she supposedly deemed acceptable for herself but not Christian students. Text added to what appeared to be a stock image of a woman in a hijab read:
THIS IS MAMASAI MAMAKUSA, A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL IN RICHMOND, VA
SHE HAS EXPELLED 2 KIDS FOR WEARING A CRUCIFIX AROUND THEIR NECKS SAYING, “THERE IS NO PLACE FOR RELIGION AT A SCHOOL”
The first clue that the meme was not on the up-and-up was the fact that it was very clearly a stock image, and not one taken from a news story about a specific incident in Richmond, Virginia. The second was arguably more subtle, but still noticeable. Mamasai Mamakusa was the purported name of the depicted woman, and was also easily recognizable as a lyric of sorts from the Michael Jackson song “Wanna Be Startin’ Something”:
[Outro]
Help me sing it
Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa
Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa
Help me sing it babe
Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa
Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa
Sing it to the world, sing it out loud
Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa
Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa
However, the most telling aspect of the Mamasai Mamakusa meme was its origin, a July 2018 post on a satirical Facebook page called “America’s Last Line of Defense.”
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