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Newspapers bite on Bush IQ hoax
Updated 08/10/01: "Bush Stupidest President Since 1945 - IQ Only 91," reads an August 1 headline in the German tabloid Bild.  The article claims that G.W. Bush is not only the dumbest U.S. president in 50 years, he's dumber than the average American. The only other president in recent times with a lower-than-average IQ, the story continues, was G.W.'s father, George H.W. Bush.

Bild attributes the data to a "scientific study" cited in British press reports, but, as Netlore aficionados already know, this has been debunked as an Internet hoax.

News venues duped by the hoax thus far include:

  • The Guardian, U.K.
  • Bild, Germany
  • Gwynne Dyer, U.K. columnist
  • Pravda, Russia
  • Hillsboro Argus (Oregon), U.S.
  • The News Sun (Waukegan), U.S.

    • Further update: Journalists criticized for not fact-checking Bush IQ story.

    Cast your vote: Would you be surprised to learn that G.W. Bush has a lower IQ than previous presidents?
     


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