By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Pranksters distributed copies Wednesday of a phony newspaper that called itself the Washington Post — and looked a lot like the Washington Post — declaring that President Trump had stepped down.

The front page of the satirical newspaper, which led with the all-caps banner headline “UNPRESIDENTED,” was packed with stories about Mr. Trump leaving the presidency, such as “How DC stepped up to shut down Trump,” and “From #MeToo to ’You’re Fired.’”

The Washington Post — the real one — issued a statement warning readers about the fake newspaper and website, called my-washingtonpost.com.

“There are fake print editions of The Washington Post being distributed around downtown DC, and we are aware of a website attempting to mimic The Post’s,” the newspaper tweeted. “They are not Post products, and we are looking into this.”

The faux Post also had its own portentous slogan: Instead of “Democracy Dies in Darkness,” the false paper used, “Democracy Awakens in Action.”

Whose prank was it? Activist L.A. Kauffman, author of “How to Read a Protest: The Art of Organizing and Resistance,” appeared to take responsibility on Twitter, and photos showed him distributing the fake paper in front of the White House.

Some accused him of staging a publicity stunt to promote his book, which was released in September, although Democratic Coalition founder Scott Dworkin was impressed, calling it “art.”

• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

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