A
classic tale of
news aggregation gone wrong
If you wanted to trick a bunch of media outlets into picking up a fake viral story, how would you go about it?
First, you'd probably choose the state of
Florida, which can probably start counting weird
news stories among its major exports. Second, you'd throw up a website with a generic newspaper name. Third, come up with some sort of
news story that is tailor-made to bring in the clicks.
And here we are, with the "Florida Sun Post," and a story about a Miami millionaire who
accidentally married his daughter.
All indications point to the story and the website being fake. That hasn't stopped numerous media outlets from picking up the story, including
The Independent,
Elite Daily,
Complex and UK tabloid
The Sun. Those reports then spread further, with the
New York Post, picking up the
Sun's report.*
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