A story circulating this week reports a scandal in which an NYPD officer was responsible for the death of an infant who was breastfeeding.

The story is fake.

The fictional story was published by National Report, which produces fake news and satire. Many of National Report’s fake news articles are shocking in nature and do not read like typical satire found on sites such as The Onion. As is commonplace with a viral fake story, a headline and link are often shared and debated by readers who aren’t aware that the entire story is a work of fiction.

National Report has posted a disclaimer in the past stating that it publishes satire. Although it has been removed, you can still see a screenshot we took of this disclaimer earlier this year here. That disclaimer notes that the website is a “political satire publication.”

Synopsis

In the fictional story, we read that an officer approached a woman named Suzanne Smith and told her to stop breastfeeding her daughter in public due to indecency. An argument ensued, and the officer grabbed the woman, which led to the baby falling to the ground. The baby later died from injuries due to the fall.

Follow-Up

Apparently due to the popularity of the first fake story, National Report published a follow-up story in which “Officer Fitzsimmons” was “cleared of all charges.” Both “NYPD” stories are currently listed as the most popular articles on National Report.

Corroboration

In addition to the fact that National Report publishes only satire, there are also no corroborating news reports about any of the events in the viral story.

Bottom Line

The story about the death of a breastfeeding child at the hands of an NYPD officer is fake. It was created and circulated by the fake news website National Report, which does not present real news.