Here we go again, folks—another supposed hate crime, another round of media hand-wringing, and another big, dramatic reveal: it was all a hoax. This time, the scene was set at Rhodes College, a private liberal arts school in Memphis, Tennessee, where vulgar, racist graffiti was scrawled across a campus plaza, supposedly bearing the words “f**k n*****s, Trump Rules.”
The initial reaction followed the same predictable script: shock, outrage, campus-wide statements about “soul-searching” and “fighting hate.” Students and faculty probably held vigils, wrote impassioned op-eds in the student paper, and maybe even staged a walkout or two. But now, the truth is out, and the person responsible has admitted it was all a fabrication.
In a statement following the investigation, Rhodes College said, “This matter has caused enormous pain to our community, and we are taking the appropriate steps to hold this individual accountable, including all legal avenues that may be available to us.”
And there it is. Another self-inflicted wound on the credibility of those who claim to be fighting “hate” while manufacturing the very incidents they’re supposedly trying to stop.
Let’s just lay this bare: every time one of these hoaxes happens, it doesn’t just embarrass the perpetrator—it delegitimizes real concerns about racism and discrimination. It makes actual victims of hate crimes less likely to be believed. But more importantly, it reveals something much darker: a culture on campuses—and in broader society—that rewards victimhood.
Why do these hoaxes keep happening? Because there’s currency in being a victim these days. Social status. Moral superiority. Attention. Entire careers can be built on being perceived as someone who has “suffered” at the hands of systemic injustice, and the sad truth is, when reality doesn’t provide the story, some people are more than willing to create one themselves.
Let’s also talk about the predictable fallout here. The college will probably issue another statement about “healing” and “coming together as a community.” But the damage is already done. Trust has been eroded, and the narrative—that America is teeming with hate lurking around every corner—has been amplified once again, even if falsely.
And here’s the kicker: these hoaxes aren’t rare. From the infamous Jussie Smollett case in Chicago to the countless campus incidents that have quietly unraveled into nothing more than performative fabrications, this story keeps repeating itself. And every single time, the credibility of real victims of injustice takes another hit.
The Left has created an environment where being a victim is seen as a badge of honor. And let’s be honest: these campus hoaxes almost always have the same blueprint—a swastika in a dormitory, a racist slur scrawled on a bathroom wall, or some vague threat that “the big bad conservatives” are coming to get you. And in almost every case, the truth is far less sinister.
Look, we all know racism exists. There are bad people out there. But when every headline-grabbing story about hate turns out to be a self-inflicted farce, people stop taking real concerns seriously. And that’s a tragedy, not just for the people falsely accused but for everyone who actually suffers from real discrimination.
