Is the Muslim Brotherhood Using Puppies as Bombs? (Spoiler: No.)

Here’s a story fit for Halloween from CBS’s New York affiliate (hat tip to journalist Patrick Galey): According to reporter Amy Dardashtian, Muslim Brotherhood members marching on Tahrir Square were caught "using puppies as gas bombs — dipping them in gasoline and lighting them on fire."

This tale was from a pet rescuer in New Jersey, who received a Facebook message from an Egyptian activist claiming that two pups had been rescued just before being turned into flammable weapons by Islamist protesters. The claim was the latest in a line of sometimes outlandish claims about the Muslim Brotherhood — including reports that the group has infiltrated the Obama administration, or that Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is tied to the group. 

Happily for Cairo’s canine population, there is virtually no chance this is true. Not only would weaponizing puppies be wildly impractical, there is no documented evidence of this occurring — nor has the Brotherhood been able to stage protests in Tahrir Square since Morsy was toppled this summer. The rescue worker who relayed the story, when contacted by Galey, said that she did nothing to verify the allegation.

CBS removed the claim without explanation from the latest version of its story, but it still lives on in the Examiner and Israel National News.