|
?:reviewBody
|
-
On 18 June 2016, the web site News4KTLA published an article reporting that a Las Vegas couple had been arrested and charged with child abuse, child endangerment, and performing a surgical procedure without a license after attempting to modify their baby's ears into a pointed shape akin to those found on Vulcans in the fictional Star Trek universe: The article was nothing more than another clickbait fabrication from a fake news site, however. The story's social media popularity was likely due in part to the fake news site's appropriation of the call letters KTLA, which identify a legitimate Los Angeles television station. News4KTLA (predictably) features no disclaimer warning readers its content is entirely fabricated — the site's About page merely says it features local news for southern Louisiana and the surrounding area. News4KTLA is one of several fly-by-night fake news purveyors utilizing visual and call-letter elements to dupe social media users into spreading misinformation. Previous News4KTLA hoaxes included claims a woman cut off a rapist's genitals and fed them to him, the Flint water crisis was caused by corpses in the river, Dasani was recalled over clear parasites in the water, a teen died participating in a social media masturbation challenge, and a man lost his penis during a rape due to the RapeX device.
(en)
|
![[This page as RDF]](http://data.gesis.org/claimskg/static/rdf-icon.gif){kind=icon}