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Fact check: Satirical commentary about the U.K. repossessing the U.S. was not written by John Cleese

The claim: Actor John Cleese wrote viral post about U.K. repossessing the U.S.

Comedians aren't starving for inspiration during the 2020 election cycle. Between Jim Carrey's rendition of Joe Biden as the fly on Vice President Mike Pence's head and Sascha Baron Cohen's controversial pranks on President Trump's close allies, a viral joke that didn't come from a comedian is making its rounds.

“After last debate John Cleese published this,” begins a version of the piece shared on Facebook Oct. 11. "Britain is Repossessing the U.S.A.."

The post leaves no room for confusion about the purported source, including a photo of the former Monty Python member.

John Cleese
British comedian John Cleese signs copies of his book 'So, Anyway', ahead of the book signing at Waterstones Piccadilly, in central London, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)
John Cleese British comedian John Cleese signs copies of his book 'So, Anyway', ahead of the book signing at Waterstones Piccadilly, in central London, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP)

“In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately,” it continues.

Humorous as the post may be, it dates back nearly two decades before the 2020 presidential race to sources other than Cleese.

The Facebook user who posted the misattributed article has not responded to USA TODAY’s request for comment.

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Rep for Cleese: he's not the author; false attribution also previously debunked

Snopes tracked down the evolution of this misattributed article in April 2003.

“Many, many people have had a hand in shaping the multiple variations of this bit of humor that now exist, but John Cleese himself is one of the few who hasn’t,” concluded Snopes.

The Monty Python team imitate journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker. Left to right: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Terry Jones.
The Monty Python team imitate journalist and broadcaster Alan Whicker. Left to right: John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman and Terry Jones.

Cleese's representation confirmed with USA TODAY that the actor wasn't the author.

"He did not write this," Neil Reading PR wrote USA TODAY in an email.

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The false attribution to Cleese appeared in many contexts over the years

According to Snopes, the original post was written by Alan Baxter from Rochester, U.K., in November 2000 as a commentary on the U.S. presidential election that year. The short piece has since been adapted, expanded and responded to many times, picking up an attribution to Cleese along the way.

Over the years, contributors have changed details to make the commentary relevant to different events in American politics. In 2020, the subject was the debates between Trump and Democratic nominee Biden.

In the weeks following President Trump’s election in 2016, newspaper the Financial Express published a similar letter that was misattributed to Cleese.

The article and attribution also appears in another form on humor website C.O.G. Inc. which was created Dec. 24, 2004.

Michael Palin, left, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)
Michael Palin, left, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)

Website the London Daily recently published the same misattributed piece about the debate where it received hundreds of comments.

This is not the first time Cleese has been the subject of widespread misattribution. Snopes has previously debunked a 2003 satirical article on the “Axis of Just as Evil” which was also misattributed to Cleese.

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Our rating: False

Actor and comedian John Cleese did not write a viral commentary which has been shared and attributed to him for nearly 20 years. The humorous threat to revoke American independence after political controversies has taken many forms and circulated long before the 2020 presidential debates. Cleese's representatives confirm he is not the original author. We rate this claim FALSE because it is not supported by our research.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: John Cleese didn't write piece about UK repossessing US