I saw this as it was being spread around by the pantswetter brigade yesterday, but I assumed most people would have the common sense to ignore it. Oops!

Judging from the comments on Twitter, a lot of people are panicking over the map that's appeared on ABC News, purporting to show ISIS' "five-year expansion plan" for conquering vast territory. Let's stop this meme right now, shall we? ISIS didn't even make the map—and a neofascist group is circulating it.

This is one of those, "garbage in, garbage out" stories, since ABC News' source was Twitter:

The Islamic militant group currently marching across Iraq trying to seize territory in order to create an Islamic state has purportedly published a map showing their plans for the next five years.The maps were widely shared on Twitter this weekend. They show parts of Africa, the Middle East, and even Europe shaded in black, to represent the territories that ISIS hopes will be part of its Sunni-run state.The maps were published at the same time that ISIS announced the creation of a caliphate, or Islamic state, spanning the territory they control in Iraq and Syria.

Adding to the story's credibility, the ABC News web page cites the Twitter account of a neofascist group, "ThirdPosition," as one of its sources. Indeed, visitors to ThirdPosition's Twitter feed can learn such intriguing facts as that World War II began when "Germany overthrew its overlords. It adopted a seperate banking system outside Jewish cartel influence. That is why we made war."

But but but... they have a FIVE YEAR PLAN!!!!!

I'm guessing this "scoop" was first dug up by a young intern. Hey, we make mistakes, too -- but we're a mostly volunteer site without a major media budget. See the difference?