National Report - The Art of the Prank

November 30, 2014December 15, 2023

Westboro Baptist Church Pranked with Fake Turkey Recall

Turkey hoax targets controversial church
by Andy Warren
Chron.com
November 28, 2014

*Fred Phelps Sr. of Westboro Baptist in Kansas displays one of his infamous protest signs, Photo by Capital-Journal File Photo/MBO*

National Report, the satirical website that immediately jumped on the Ebola hoax wagon, has done it again for the holidays.

Millions of Thanksgiving turkeys have been recalled because of a mutated form of the avian flu virus.

It seems no form of preparation, whether baked or deep fried, will make them safe for human consumption, the article alerts.

“Consumers should call the Turkey Safety Hotline … for safety updates.”

That’s the hoax part. Then there’s the big finish:

The phone number provided is for Pastor Fred W. Phelps at the Westboro Baptist Church, the anti-gay Kansas-based congregation infamous for picketing at military funerals that recently tried to out-yell Texas A&M students over the school’s inclusion policies.

October 23, 2014December 15, 2023

Spreading Fear for Profit

Fake news sites are using Facebook to spread Ebola panic
by Josh Dzieza
The Verge
October 22, 2014

They call themselves satire sites, but they’re really spreading scary rumors for profit

There”™s a scary story bouncing around Facebook, accruing hundreds of thousands of likes: the small town of Purdon, Texas, has been quarantined after a family of five was diagnosed with Ebola. The story is a total hoax, put out by a deeply cynical site called the National Report. But to the 340,000 people who saw it pop up in their news feed, it looked real enough to share.

“We”™ve seen stories on satire sites “” fake news sites “” getting tremendous traction because they feed on people”™s fears,” says Craig Silverman, the founder of Emergent.Info. “It”™s really becoming an epidemic now.” Silverman launched Emergent with Columbia”™s Tow Center for Digital Journalism last month to track the spread of rumors online in real time. Many of the stories he”™s seen have been organic rumors, things like the pumpkin spice condom or the 50-foot crab that begin life as jokes, get taken out of context, are written up in news stories, and take off on Facebook before anyone bothers to verify them. But he”™s finding that a surprising number, especially when it comes to Ebola, are deliberate attempts to deceive. “I’ve had people emailing me about the Purdon story, very scared, asking if it was true,” says Silverman.

Emergent's chart of the spreading Purdon hoax. Green represents shares linking to the hoax, red represents shares debunking it. — Emergent’s chart of the spreading Purdon hoax. Green represents shares linking to the hoax, red represents shares debunking it.

Continue reading “Spreading Fear for Profit”

October 6, 2013December 15, 2023

Fox News Falls Prey to Satirical Website

UPDATE, October 8, 2013: Jimmy Kimmel Live – Fox News is Gullible

Fox Falls For Fake Story About Obama Personally Funding Muslim Museum During Shutdown
by Mike Burns
Media Matters
October 5, 2013

Fox & Friends Saturday criticized President Obama for offering to personally pay for a “museum of Muslim culture” during the government shutdown, a claim that originated from a satire website.

Read the rest of the story here.