Beware of a new spate of “location changing” spoof news
Hold on, is Tom Hanks really moving to Woodbury, Minnesota?
Has Will Ferrell explained why he is moving to Paterson, New Jersey?
And has Morgan Freeman explained why he is moving to Canton, Ohio?
No. Because none of it is true. Welcome to the latest breed of Internet hoaxes. Started in 2016, the latest ruse by Internet pranksters is to unleash a series of near identical articles on unsuspecting visitors, all published on an ever-growing network of spoof news websites.
Each hoax will come in many different incarnations, with only minor details changed. For example, a recent spate of hoaxes claimed that a certain celebrity is moving to a certain town or city. Each version of the article (which could have been published on any number of near-identical spoof websites) simply changes the name of the celebrity and the name of the town, while the rest of the article remains entirely the same. Hence our examples at the start of this article.
Celebrities moving towns isn’t the only hoax template used, though. Another recent example that went viral across social media is the claim that a certain celebrity has explained why a certain town has “the most beautiful women”. Sorry girls in Bath, UK. Orlando Bloom hasn’t announced that you’re all the “most beautiful”. But we’re sure you’re right up there, regardless.
Two identical stories from Daily News 11 quote different celebrities and towns.
Another template is the movie sequel version, which claims that a movie sequel will be filmed in a certain town or city. Sorry to the residents of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Notebook 2 isn’t going to be filmed there, nor is it a real sequel that’s happening. The same applies to the residents of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the next Star Wars film isn’t going to be filmed there, either.
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Other version of this rumour exist, each one having dozens of its own incarnations where specific details have been altered to make it relevant to a certain town or city across the world. These rumours generally do well since they’re shared by those who live in the locations quoted in each version of a rumour.
It’s another reminder to ensure that you only get your Internet new from reputable online media outlets. Create a list of sites that you trust, and treat any others with scepticism. On the Internet these days, it really is false unless proven true, not the other way around.