Hoax Alert: 'El Chapo' DID NOT Escape Prison Again

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke

El Chapo mugshot.jpg

Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is still locked away in a maximum security prison and has not escaped a third time, contrary to trending tweets and stories posted online.

"El Chapo" became a trending term Sunday morning as the social media rumor mill spread the disinformation faster than a heroin shipment across the southern U.S. border. But it is a hoax.

Lead Stories' Trendolizer detected a trending story posted on a noted hoax website that claimed Guzman was unaccounted for during a check of his cell early Sunday. The website tries to pass for a real ABC News site, but notice the URL is .co, not .com.

Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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