Jay-Z didn't bribe country radio stations to play Beyoncé's songs. This claim began as satire

When Beyoncé said that her new album, “Cowboy Carter,” was born out of an experience where it was “absolutely clear” that she wasn't welcome, many people concluded that she was missing out on her 2016 performance with The Chicks the Country Music Association meant awards.

Although her rendition of Beyoncé's “Daddy Lessons” “energized much of the live audience,” Vulture reported, “Beyoncé's performance angered traditionalists, sparked a heated debate about whether or not she is a country, and led to. “ gross display of racism.”

Beyoncé has said that “Cowboy Carter” is not a country album, but rather a “'Beyoncé' album.” But his first two singles charted on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

Some social media posts claimed that they couldn't have done it on their own.

“Woah,” a May 7 Facebook post said. “Jay-Z paid country radio stations more than $20 million to play Beyoncé songs so she could top the Billboard country charts.”

This post was flagged as part of Meta's efforts to combat fake news and misinformation in its news feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Jay-Z, Beyoncé's husband, didn't pay any money for country stations to play her songs.

This claim comes from America's Last Line of Defense, an online publisher of self-described satire. From his Facebook account, which states, “Nothing on this site is real,” America's Last

Line of Defense said on April 9 that “'Operation Push Cowboy Carter' has been underway for months, with Jay-Z contacting stations across the country with offers of cash and luxury gifts.”

We rate posts that say this fake claim is authentic Pants on Fire!

This fact check was originally published by PolitiFact, part of the Poynter Institute. The sources for this fact check can be found here.