Fact Check: Did Ted Nugent really call for Native Americans to 'go back where they came from?'
Times-Union readers want to know:
I read on Facebook that singer Ted Nugent called for Native Americans to "go back where they came from." Did he really know what he said?
On Aug. 10, 2014, the website Newslo published an article titled "Ted Nugent Calls for Native Americans to 'Go Back Where They Came From,' " which referenced a July and August 2014 dispute between the conservative rock musician and Native American groups, who have protested and sometimes canceled his appearances because of his history of racially charged remarks, Snopes.com reported.
After the Coeur d'Alene Tribe canceled his scheduled appearance at a casino in Worley, Idaho, Nugent was quoted in several newspapers as saying on July 22:
"I take it as a badge of honor that such unclean vermin are upset by me and my positive energy. Put your heart and soul into everything you do and nobody can stop you. Sometimes you give the world the best you got and you get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you got anyway."
Nugent said the cancellation of his appearance at the Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, S.D., stepped over the line. That's when he supposedly made the comment about Native Americans.
Newslo has a habit, however, of embellishing the truth. In this case, it tacked on the diatribe that Native Americans should be "shipped back to wherever they came from."
"They need to just shut up and admit WE WERE HERE FIRST! Nobody asked them to come to America! They got a problem with a successful, happy, white American, they should just go back where they came from! Hell, it's past time [they] were ROUNDED UP AND SHIPPED BACK TO WHEREVER THEY CAME FROM! I'll even donate the shipping crates!"
While some accurate quotes were included in the Newslo article (Nugent did say the first quote here about it being a "badge of honor"), the excerpt about his calling for the roundup of Native Americans was totally fabricated.
The Newslo site allows readers to "see facts" or "hide facts" in most articles. The Nugent embellishment was not identified as fact; instead it was highlighted as satire.
Snopes.com points out that Newslo also features this disclaimer:
"Newslo is the first hybrid News/Satire platform on the web. Readers come to us for a unique brand of entertainment and information that is enhanced by features like our fact-button, which allows readers to find what is fact and what is satire."
Carole Fader: (904) 359-4635