Fake News: TMZ Makes Up Story About Trump Changing Black History Month

TMZ has been busted making up a story about President Donald Trump. The lead story on the gossip site on Wednesday (February 2) reads "Donald Trump I've 86'd Black History Month It's Now African American History Month"

The article quotes an unidentified "senior administration official" who says that "after meeting with African American leaders, he believed the consensus was that the term "black" is outdated." TMZ then goes on to claim that "Every U.S. president since 1976 had designated February as Black History Month." 

Had TMZ done a quick Google search, they would have found out that President Obama also proclaimed February as "African American History Month". In a proclamation on January 29th, 2016 President Obama wrote(emphasis mine):

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 2016 as National African American History Month.

Same story in 2015, and it seems that in 2014, no Presidential proclamation went out according to the archive of presidential proclamations. President George Bush, also issued a proclamation that February is "African American History Month.", as did President Bill Clinton.

TMZ should stick to reporting on celebrity gossip and leave real reporting to people with basic research skills. 

Photo: Getty Images