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On 6 May 2017 the somewhat official-looking web site United News published an item reporting that a Texas man hired a prostitute, only to discover upon her arrival that he had accidentally hired his own wife: The item bears an uncanny resemblance to a decades-old urban legend about a man who hires a prostitute (or visits a brothel) only to learn that his daughter is employed at the establishment. Additionally, the page format is virtually identical to a recent Border Herald fake news item about a diarrhea incident at a Florida strip club: Although United News bears no disclaimer we can find, it appears to be one of a number of regional fake news sites; its fellows include outfits like the Baltimore Gazette, the Seattle Tribune, and the Florida Sun Post. The sites, which pose as the digital counterparts for non-existent regional newspapers and primarily share shocking or salacious claims fabricated to rack up social media shares and traffic, are occasionally picked up by tabloids and other sources and then reproduced as real news.
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