Messages are spreading across social media that claim a man was arrested after showing a police officer the “finger circle” during a traffic stop.
(The finger game is a game-turned-Internet-meme where one “player” has to trick another into looking at their finger circle symbol made with the thumb and forefinger. Providing the symbol is made below the waist, the player making the symbol gets to punch the player that looked at it.)
The messages link back to an article on the website Huzlers.com that claims the man, Pablo Garcia, shows an officer the circle symbol when asked for his license and registration. The article claims Garcia tricked the officer by pretending to reach into his pocket to pull out his wallet. The article reads in part –
A Chicago man has been arrested after he was pulled over by Chicago police and allegedly showed the officer the “finger circle” when asked for his license and registration.
Pablo Garcia, 23, was pulled over by Chicago police on Lake Short Drive on New Year’s eve afternoon for reportedly driving with his car’s interior light on for too long.
However the article appears to be fake. The website Huzlers.com is a popular and long-running fake news website, and none of its content should be taken seriously.
It has a disclaimer at the bottom of each article that reads “ Huzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world. If it’s trending on social media you’ll find it here first.”
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Those who continue to read the article to the end would probably determine that the story was indeed fictional after it claims the police officer “punched” Pablo Garcia after he tricked the officer into seeing the finger circle.
Additionally, the mugshot allegedly showing Pablo Garcia is a mugshot that has been circulating the Internet for well over 5 years, a reverse image search reveals, and as such has likely nothing to do with this story.