MAGA’s Hopped Up Outrage

Earlier this week, an explosion of outrage detonated across the world of right-wing media over Bad Bunny’s celebrated Super Bowl half time show performance—an outrage cycle that, naturally, reached Republican lawmakers, many of whom rely on dishonest online influencers for their news and information.

“You can’t say the f-word on live TV. ‘Bad Bunny’s disgusting halftime show was illegal,” GOP Rep. Randy Fine raged on X along with screenshots of the artist’s purported lyrics. “We are sending [FCC chief] Brendan Carr a letter calling for dramatic action, including fines and broadcast license reviews, against the NFL, NBC, and ‘Bad Bunny.’”

“Lock them up,” Fine demanded. “Today would be a great day to round up and deport illegals. Especially those who liked ‘Bad Bunny's filth. ALL of them. NO EXCEPTIONS,” he later added.

Following the congressman’s letter and ballooning fury from the MAGA Media machine, Donald Trump’s FCC dutifully looked into the matter, only to discover that the Puerto Rican superstar who had ignited the fierce backlash had sung nothing of the sort.

“The FCC’s initial take is that the act and the songs that the Puerto Rican rapper belted out during the halftime show — ‘Tití Me Preguntó,’ ‘Monaco,’ and ‘Safaera’—were scrubbed of lyrics that normally include references to sex acts and genitalia,” the New York Post’s Charles Gasparino reported Friday, adding that the scrutiny over Bad Bunny’s performance had been “shelved.”

I spent a few hours trying to get in touch with Rep. Fine on Friday afternoon to ask where he got his information or whether he planned to take the post down. Calls to his office went unanswered and emails to him and his spokesman weren’t returned—though Fine did have time to post Friday night about Democrats having “a fetish for immigrants.” The original post accusing Bad Bunny of broadcasting “illegal” obscenities remains live—racking up more 12,000 shares and 1.3 million views. It is one of many circulating in right-wing media, spreading misinformation aimed at smearing Bad Bunny, who has been critical of ICE, to the masses.

While the FCC arrived at the correct conclusion, it was too late. By the time Carr’s agency had quietly determined there was nothing actionable in Bad Bunny’s set, the narrative had already become gospel inside the conservative media bubble. To those who live in it, the halftime show was another supposed example of liberal cultural decay beamed into America’s living rooms.

Fine never issued a correction or acknowledged that the lyrics circulating online were either doctored or pulled from uncensored studio versions not performed during the live broadcast. Of course, he and other performative online influencers couldn't bother to check if the songs actually performed at the Super Bowl contained any profane language. They don’t speak Spanish or care to make an effort to understand another culture.

“If I did speak Spanish—which I don’t—you have to go back and read the lyrics of what was said,” Glenn Beck told his listeners Monday. “If I do speak Spanish, I would be writing the FCC if I had children in the room,” he added while reading verses “that supposedly” were performed by Bad Bunny. The only problem is those lyrics belonged to a different Puerto Rican rapper, Ñengo Flow, that did not air during the Super Bowl.

But that hardly matters in today’s MAGA Media ecosystem.

The episode showcases how little fact-checking is actually performed by MAGA influencers who command millions of followers and regularly attack the mainstream press as liars. Time and again, bad-faith personalities post misleading or fabricated content on X. It goes viral within a loop of MAGA influencers and elected officials. Republican lawmakers amplify it. The Trump administration publicly repeats the false claim and mobilizes government resources. Then, once the claim is debunked, everyone quietly moves on without an apology, leaving the false narrative in place for millions of conservatives.

Unfortunately, it’s a movie we’ve all seen before.

Last year, a viral video circulated by right-wing influencer Nick Shirley purported to show extensive fraud at federally-funded Minnesota daycares. The clip burst into conservative feeds, sparking outrage and demands for federal intervention. Within days, the Trump administration announced it was freezing child care funds in response to “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the country,” specifically citing Shirley’s video. But the state later found the daycare centers at the center of Shirley’s fraud claims were operating as expected.

Or you may recall when Elon Musk falsely claimed that the government planned to spend $50 million on condoms for Gaza, prompting the Trump administration to announce it had prevented a “preposterous waste of taxpayer money.” The allegation made headlines across right-wing media, framed as an example of grotesque foreign aid priorities.

“We identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas,” Trump echoed. “They used them as a method of making bombs. How about that?” But, that too was false. Musk never apologized for the preposterous claim, but eventually told reporters: “Some of the things that I say will be incorrect, and should be corrected.”

While the press has struggled to keep up with the flurry of lies and half-truths emanating from online MAGA warriors, the Trump administration has enabled and incentivized performative bad-faith actors who promote disinformation for viral fame, rewarding them with stardom and power.

In the meantime, a sizable slice of the country is left believing outrageous claims, including that a Puerto Rican pop star broadcast illegal obscenities into their living rooms—because the people they trust said so, and never bothered to say otherwise.