唐纳德特朗普总统在显示一张地图显示飓风多利安在椭圆形办公室的预计路径之后被广泛嘲笑，该地图似乎已经用记号笔改变，错误地显示它预计将袭击阿拉巴马州。
在白宫奇怪的时刻之后，成千上万的人使用#Sharpiegate主题标签（暗指着名的记号笔品牌）发推文，其中特朗普试图通过一个篡改的国家飓风中心地图，显示多利安的投影是真实的，以便备份他之前声称阿拉巴马州可能受到强大风暴的影响。
该地图的日期为8月29日，看起来是一条黑色标记笔线，显示Dorian可能在周二早上（9月3日）到达阿拉巴马州东南部。
当椭圆形办公室的一名记者询问是否使用Sharpie将黑色环添加到阿拉巴马州的角落时，特朗普回答说：“我不知道，我不知道。” 没有黑线的原始NHC地图仍可在线查看。
社交媒体用户嘲笑特朗普超过#Sharpiegate，许多人说这是另一个例子，总统公开提出虚假声明，夸大或企图误导公众。
“这可能是他在就职典礼当天的人数规模以来最愚蠢的故事......而我在这里的每一分钟都是因为这个瘦弱的小人物不能放手而且不断做出越来越大的傻瓜， “ 斯蒂芬妮米勒秀的执行制片人Travis Bone写道。
“#sharpiegate是如此琐碎和愚蠢，但它强调了令美国总司令撒谎的一种令人深感不安（并且坦率地，可怕的）倾向，然后在不考虑问责制的后果的情况下掩盖它。因为没有人让他负起责任这很疯狂，“用户@MuttersMommy说道。
天气分析师Dennis Mersereau指出，故意发布“假冒天气预报”或改变政府官方天气预报是一种联邦犯罪。
尽管国家气象局在总统最初的虚假声明后不久确认“阿拉巴马州不会看到任何影响” ，但特朗普再次试图证明他的陈述是正确的，通过发布另一张地图，其中有几条线预测多利安的路径，其中一些交叉进入阿拉巴马州。
特朗普发推文说：“这是飓风初期的初步预测路径。” “正如你所看到的，几乎所有的模特都预测它将通过佛罗里达州也击中格鲁吉亚和阿拉巴马州。我接受假新闻道歉！”
正如“卫报”所指出的那样，地图的日期是美国东部夏令时间8月28日，也就是特朗普发出推文前三天声称佛罗里达州，“南卡罗来纳州，北卡罗来纳州，佐治亚州和阿拉巴马州，很可能会受到打击（很多）比预期更难。“ 到目前为止，预报称阿拉巴马州不会受到飓风的危害。
该地图还有免责声明：“NHC的建议和县紧急声明取代了这个产品。这个图形应该补充而不是取代NHC的讨论。”
#SHARPIEGATE TRENDS AS PEOPLE MOCK TRUMP FOR SHOWING HURRICANE DORIAN PATH MAP ALTERED WITH PEN
President Donald Trump has been widely mocked after he displayed a map showing Hurricane Dorian's projected path in the Oval Office which appeared to have been altered with a marker pen to falsely show it was expected to hit Alabama.
Thousands of people have tweeted using the #Sharpiegate hashtag (alluding to the famous marker pen brand) following the bizarre moment in the White House in which Trump attempted to pass off a doctored National Hurricane Center map showing Dorian's projection as genuine in order to back up his previous claims that Alabama could be affected by the powerful storm.
The map, dated from August 29, has what appears to be a black marker pen line added on to show Dorian could hit south-east Alabama by Tuesday morning (September 3).
When a reporter in the Oval office asked whether a Sharpie was used to add the black loop into the corner of Alabama, Trump replied, "I don't know, I don't know." The original NHC map, without the black line, is still available to view online.
Social media users ridiculed Trump over #Sharpiegate, with many saying it is another example where the president has openly made false claims, exaggerated or attempted to mislead the public.
"This is probably the stupidest story since his crowd size on inauguration day....And I am here for every minute of it because this thin skinned petty man can't let it go and keeps making a bigger and bigger fool of himself," wrote Travis Bone, executive producer of The Stephanie Miller Show.
"#sharpiegate is so petty and moronic, but it underlines a deeply disturbing (and frankly, terrifying) propensity for the commander in chief of the US to lie, then cover it without regard to the consequences of accountability. Because no one holds him accountable. This is madness," said user @MuttersMommy.
As noted by weather analyst Dennis Mersereau, it is a federal crime to knowingly issue a "counterfeit weather forecast" or alter an official government weather forecast.
Despite the National Weather Service confirming that "Alabama will NOT see any impacts" from Dorian shortly after the president's original false claim, Trump once again attempted to prove his statement was correct by tweeting another map with several lines predicting Dorian's path, some of which cross into Alabama.
"This was the originally projected path of the Hurricane in its early stages," Trump tweeted. "As you can see, almost all models predicted it to go through Florida also hitting Georgia and Alabama. I accept the Fake News apologies!"
As noted by The Guardian, the map is dated 28 August at 08.06 EDT, three days before Trump sent his tweet claiming that as well as Florida, "South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, will most likely be hit (much) harder than anticipated." By this time, forecasts said that Alabama would not be in any danger from the hurricane.
The map also has the disclaimer: "NHC advisories and county emergency statements supersede this product. This graphic should complement, not replace, NHC discussions."
