See this story in your feed? Respond to it by linking to this one.
Hey, just a tip: If you see this link about Anonymous and Romney’s tax returns floating around the ether, it’s not real. In fact, a Forbes writer even spent some time debunking the idea around the article, while noting the source’s satirical nature. Free Wood Post is a satire site that has published a number of realish-sounding things that have surfaced over the past few months. And people keep getting fooled, not reading deep enough into the article to see that there are obvious jokes in the article — a deduction from “Toupee Creators Unlimited,” for example. Unfortunately for us (and unlike The Onion), the things sound somewhat feasible on their face, and readers totally skip over the “Satire Disclaimer” on every page of the site. If someone sends you this link, send them this link back.
As this article notes, if you look closely, the language on the site is obviously a rip-off written by someone who doesn’t speak English.
Protip: If you see an image that seems a touch “unbelievable,” especially if it comes from an untested source like a brand-new blog, there’s a chance it may be fake. Very fake, even. That’s the story of this receipt that seemingly mocks the 99 percent, but is actually from a blog that’s already been taken off the Internet.
mbyhoff says: Hey, party-pooper, read this: https://twitter.com/#!/anarchival/status/127021226722983936
» SFB says: We, however, want to live in a world where we call PR scams what they are, and take outlets that propagate them to task. (EDIT: Which, to give them credit, they took to heart.) Is that too much to ask? — Ernie @ SFB
Slip up! Man orders size 14.5 slipper, gets size 1,450 instead
When a Chinese manufacturer missed a decimal point in an online order, one customer wound up with a monster of a slipper.All I want for Christmas.
This story is fake. It’s a PR stunt for the company that made the slippers, and the guy in the slippers is the company’s Webmaster. (EDIT: Today corrected their error. Good work, guys.)
Somebody just lost their dream girl: We certainly wouldn’t fault any fans of Japanese pop group AKB48 if they’re feeling a bit sore or a bit duped. As the video above exposed last week, the sixth and newest member, Eguchi Aimi, doesn’t fit the job prerequisites for an “all-girl” band — she’s actually entirely computer generated. Her features were cobbled together from the faces of her flesh-and-blood partners — there’s something both cool and deeply disconcerting about this. source
They’re going to come out of the woodwork. This is like Christmas for a phony.Former U.S. Navy SEAL Don Shipley • Speaking to ABC News about fraudulent “war heroes” seizing the opportunity of Memorial Day for a little beginning-of-summer fakery. A couple of ABC reporters, Lee Ferran and Vic Walter, have reported that the incidence of people lying about serving in the military has gotten much worse since the death of Osama bin Laden at the hands of SEAL Team 6. It’s also reported that five people have been charged with claiming to be medal winners, or illegally wearing military service medals in 2011. We’ll admit, we had no clue it was illegal to wear a service medal that you didn’t earn, but beyond the legality of it, we think we can all agree — this is a disgustingly manipulative, lowly brand of fraud to be perpetrating. source (via • follow)
» “Spice” and “K2” are off the shelves: The DEA has placed five chemicals onto Schedule 1 (the most restricted level of drug enforcement) that are integral to the production of the two fake-pot compounds, effectively putting the kibosh on the products. Once widely and legally sold in smoke shops (as the intensely hallucinogenic herb Salvia astonishingly still is), these products had become popular buys for people looking to get high without fear of legal action.
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