The City of Atlanta has invited residents to watch the implosion of Stone Mountain on 5 August 2018.
Many Facebook users encountered a suspicious event posted on that platform seemingly inviting them to witness the destruction of the controversial Confederate Memorial Carving at Georgia's Stone Mountain Park on 5 August 2018: The putative event was described as follows: Join us as we implode America's largest Confederate monument! Say goodbye to a symbol of white supremacy and celebrate with us as we watch Stone Mountain crumble to the ground. Free of charge. Bring a chair. *The MARTA bus will not be blocking view of implosion. Although this Facebook event stated that it was hosted by 'City of Atlanta,' it was not created by any official municipal or other government organization. The 'City of Atlanta' Facebook page is actually a parody account created by comedian Ben Palmer. Palmer has been running his 'City of Atlanta' Facebook page (he also operates another parody city page based in San Francisco and a fake customer service page for the 'Waffle Houf') since at least 2016. Although the page doesn't contain a readily available disclaimer explicitly labeling its content as satire, viewers can identify the satirical nature of the page by taking a closer look at page's version of the Atlanta city seal. Here's a comparison of the official city seal (left) and the spoof version from Palmer's parody page (right): The bas-relief sculpture of three Confederate generals on Stone Mountain has become a subject of increased controversy in recent years. Although some critics have called for the monument to be destroyed or altered, the City of Atlanta has not announced any plans to modify or remove the carving, least of all to 'implode' it.
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