Fact Check: Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg Joining Sylvester Stallone's 'Traditional' Studio?

Claim:

Actors Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg are joining Sylvester Stallone’s new production studio focused on promoting "traditional values."

Rating:

Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )

On April 8, 2024, the Facebook page America's Last Line of Defense posted a quote meme claiming actors Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg were joining Sylvester Stallone's new production studio focused on promoting "traditional values."

The post read in full:

"It's time for Hollywood to take a good look at what it's become," said Stallone, "We need reasonable people to step up and reject all the wokeness that's ruining our industry."

Wahlberg and Washington stood stoically by as the three made the announcement in Chicago.

As of this writing, the post had received more than 134,000 reactions and was shared about 12,000 times. In a comment under the post, America's Last Line of Defense wrote , "Sly is right, patriots. Hollywood needs a reset. No more woke reboots that completely change the story. No more casting people for parts because of their diversity factor rather than their ability to act. No more focusing on what makes less than one percent of the population happy."

(Facebook user America's Last Line of Defense)

A few social media users thought the post was real, while others saw it as fake. One user commented under the post, "Good men and good decision!"

However, the truth was this item about Washington, Stallone and Wahlberg was not a factual recounting of real-life events.

The America's Last Line of Defense Facebook page introduction states : "The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real." The page is also classified as "Satire/Parody." As such we rate this claim as satirical in nature.

The Facebook page also links to The Dunning-Kruger Times , which describes itself as "a subsidiary of the 'America's Last Line of Defense' network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery, or as Snopes called it before they lost their war on satire: Junk News."

Moreover, the website's " About Us " section states:

Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical.

This is not the first time we've debunked such claims from this Facebook page. On May 29, 2024, the page posted a fake meme also targeting De Niro with the text: "Kevin Costner Fires Robert De Niro From His New Project: 'He's Disrespectful And He Doesn't Know When To Shut Up.'"

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Sources:

"About Us." Dunning-Kruger-Times.Com, 1 Aug. 2022, https://dunning-kruger-times.com/about-us/ . Accessed on June 11, 2024.

Liles, Jordan. "Kevin Costner Fired 'Disrespectful' Robert De Niro?" Snopes, 30 May 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/kevin-costner-fires-robert-deniro/ . Accessed on June 11, 2024.