Today begins my 8th installment of Fake This Week, a running recap of the most popular bogus stories circulating online.
Fake This Week
Cadbury didn’t ban the word “Easter” to avoid offending non-Christians. A tabloid piece in the Daily Star asserted that chocolate makers such as Cadbury jumped on the “political correctness trend” by omitting the word “Easter” from their products. A cursory glance of Cadbury’s website, Facebook page, and products will reveal the word “Easter” in abundance. A rep on the official Facebook page wrote, “…the word ‘Easter’ is still mentioned on the back of our eggs. As a seasonal treat they’ll always be linked with Easter.”
Harrison Ford didn’t endorse Donald Trump for President. A fake graphic showed up this month which appeared to show Harrison Ford holding a Donald Trump sign. That graphic, however, was merely an altered version of Ford’s “Ask Me Anything” salute on Reddit from early 2014.
Earlier: Fake Harrison Ford graphic is making the rounds. https://t.co/wmalfhLrs5 pic.twitter.com/jjj8Jiz5fL
— Waffles At Noon (@wafflesatnoon) March 23, 2016
That picture of purple ladybugs is not real. A Facebook post from March 2015 featuring purple ladybugs from earlier this month saw increased sharing this week. The caption states that “The fifteen-spotted ladybug is found only in Hawaii.” The photo received thousands of shares with most readers accepting the post as accurate. The image, however, is an alteration of a shot of red ladybugs found on this photographer’s website. Ladybugs come in a variety of colors, and Bug Guide does state that the Fifteen-spotted Lady Beetle can range in color from “gray to deep purple,” but the popular “purple ladybug” photo on social media is fake.
Step Brothers 2 isn’t set to begin filming in 2016. A post could be seen in heavy rotation around several social media sites this week which states that Step Brothers 2 is set to begin filming in Virginia in Fall 2016. The article which makes this assertion was published on the fake news website Local News 33, which is known to publish bogus and outlandish stories that prompt heavy sharing. The About page on that site admits that “All news articles on localnews33.com are satire or pure fantasy. There has been occasional talk of a sequel to the popular 2008 film starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, but there have been no announcements regarding a Step Brothers 2. Read more from our friends at Hoax Slayer.
The Step Brothers 2 story circulating this week is not true. https://t.co/c9u432pMvU pic.twitter.com/DOhiCvI6Xa
— Waffles At Noon (@wafflesatnoon) March 23, 2016