Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True

'Dry January' Campaign Over In U.K., Beginning Of 'Wet February'?

  • by: Maarten Schenk
  • (Mon, 01 Feb 2016 09:56:09 Z)

As January came to an end, so did this year's 'Dry January' campaign organised by U.K. anti-alcohol abuse charity Alcohol Concern. The campaign aims to get people to stop drinking for one month so they can enjoy the benefits this would bring: "losing weight, sleeping better, more energy, clearer skin plus huge savings".

The money saved could then in turn be donated to the charity so they could spend it on raising awareness about alcohol abuse.

Of course, now the campaign is officially over, jokers are having a pretty good laugh about it:

Open the f**king door, Dry January people tell landlords

PUBS are surrounded by hordes of desperate, angry Dry January participants. Former Dry January people, realising that their hell is over, have gathered in large half-dressed mobs wherever alcohol is sold. Where necessary they are using their fists and pieces of furniture to smash their way in.

On Twitter, users are using the #dryjanuary hashtag to talk about all the drinks they are now having to celebrate the end of the dry month:

Of course, a #wetfebruary trend has started as well:

Have you participated in either of the trends/campaigns? Let us know in the comments!

About the author:

Maarten Schenk is our resident expert on fake news and hoax websites. He likes to go beyond just debunking trending fake news stories and is endlessly fascinated by the dazzling variety of psychological and technical tricks used by the people and networks who intentionally spread made-up things on the internet.  He can often be found at conferences and events about fake news, disinformation and fact checking when he is not in his office in Belgium monitoring and tracking the latest fake article to go viral.

Read more about or contact Maarten Schenk