The Texas governor’s tweet reshared a satirical article that was completely fabricated

The author behind a satirical story that duped Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called him “one of the dumbest people in the country” after Abbott reshared the fake article as if it were real. Christopher Blair, who runs the parody website The Dunning-Kruger-Times, penned the fabricated piece claiming that country music star Garth Brooks was booed off stage at the Texas Country Jamboree after calling his conservative fans “a**holes.” The entire story was a work of fiction, but Governor Abbott didn’t catch on.

Blair expressed his astonishment when he saw Abbott’s tweet, saying he was “besides myself with joy” at how easily the governor had fallen for the hoax. “He’s one of the dumbest people in the country,” Blair remarked in an interview with The Guardian. Blair continued, saying that when he wrote the headline, he thought it might be a bit extreme, but in the end, “it wasn’t” — as Abbott’s response proved.

The governor tweeted a link to the article on June 25, accompanied by the caption: “Garth Brooks Booed Off Stage at 123rd Annual Texas Country Jamboree. Go woke. Go broke.” The tweet falsely claimed that Brooks had insulted his conservative fans during the event, which Blair fabricated for comedic effect. Abbott’s tweet was meant to attack Brooks, who had recently made headlines for his stance on the conservative boycott of Bud Light.

In reality, Brooks had simply explained that his new Nashville bar would serve all brands of beer, including Bud Light, and emphasised the importance of love and inclusivity, saying, “If you’re an a**hole, there are plenty of other places on lower Broadway to go.”

After realising his mistake, Abbott deleted the tweet, but it was too late—many had already seen it. Texas Democratic Congressman Greg Casar commented, “Gov Abbott just accidentally posted a satire article because he wants to hate on queer Texans and Garth Brooks so bad.” Casar also pointed out that the Texas Country Jamboree mentioned in the story doesn’t exist, and the town of Hambriston is a fabrication, adding that “the Governor is not fit to tweet, much less govern.”