Coeur d’Alene schools rebut faux news story

Coeur d’Alene School District officials are working to rebut an article about arming teachers published on a news spoof website after the bogus story gained the attention of national media.

District Communications Director Laura Rumpler told the Coeur d’Alene Press that she was alerted to the fake news story on the website National Report after a real news organization called because they were working on a story about children and gun safety.

The hoax story detailed a fictitious Coeur d’Alene school board decision granting teachers permission to carry concealed weapons on school grounds. Rumpler said she got a call from a news production assistant from a national television news show who wanted information about the phony school board decision.

“I was excited by the idea of sharing our School Resource Officer program success model with a national news program, but instead found myself spending time tracking down the false reporting about our district on the Web,” Rumpler said.