Fact Check: Was Garth Brooks booed off Texas County Jamboree stage? Viral article debunked

A hoax about country singer Garth Brooks being booed off the stage at an annual event went viral online on June 25, 2023. However, it did not actually happen. The rumor was prompted by a fictional story written by Flagg Eagleton for The Dunning-Kruger Times, which is a satire website.

The place, Hambrinson, which has been mentioned in the article does not exist, and there is also no existence of an annual event called “Texas County Jamboree”. However, the article quickly went viral after Gregg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, shared it on his Twitter account, rejoicing at the claim made in the article. He wrote:

“Go woke. Go broke. Garth called his conservative fans “a**holes”. Good job Texas.”

But Abbott soon deleted his tweet after realizing that it was fake news.

Everything posted on The Dunning-Kruger Times is fiction. Writers on this website post satirical articles based on political or current affairs in the U.S. They amalgamate real people and fictional ideas or plots in their stories and make them look like real news.

Netizens clarify that the article about Garth Brooks is a satire and not real. (Image via Twitter/@GregCasar)

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Internet reacts to Gregg Abbott tweeting fake article on Garth Brooks'

It did not take netizens long to find out that the news about Garth being disapproved by the audience was fake. However, some were quick to believe it and reacted accordingly.

But what surprised netizens the most was the Texas Governor sharing a piece of fake news that contained evidently unreal information on Twitter. As expected, he was mocked by many for not even knowing that Hambrinson is not a real place.

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott's deleted tweet. (Image via Twitter/@GregCasar)

Internet reacts to satire article on Garth Brooks and the Texas Governor's tweet on it. (Image via Twitter/@ChrisRThornton)

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Conservatives call for a boycott of country singer Garth Brooks

According to the satirical article on the website, The Dunning-Kruger Times, Garth was booed off the stage at the event because he previously called his fans “a**holes.” This referred to when earlier this month, Garth used the aforementioned expletive to indirectly address the conservatives.

The country superstar announced in June 2023 that he would serve every brand of beer, including the controversial Bud Light at his new bar Friends In Low Places Bar & Honky Tonk in Nashville.

The recent wave of hate against the LGBTQ+ community stemmed from the Bud Light controversy in April when the company partnered with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Since then, the conservatives have been going against every company or corporation that supports the queer community.

The primary antics that they kept using in their anti-LGBTQ+ campaign was boycotting the individual or the company that expressed support for the community and the catchphrase:

“Go woke. Go Broke.”

Garth Brooks did not escape the boycott threats either. As soon as he noted that he wants his bar to be a place where one can feel safe, loved, and respected, the conservatives lined up to slam the singer. They said that they would not visit his bar and would happily go to other places, implying that Garth's business will go down the drain without any customers.