Was 41-year-old David Martinez from Myrtle Beach, SC arrested by the cops after climbing on a traffic light and defecating on passing cars? No, that's not true: a fake news website using the logo and a domain name similar to that of Fox News published a hoax it had copied and altered from a different fake news website. None of it is real.
The story originated from an article published by foxnews-us.com (not the real foxnews.com) on August 26, 2018 titled "Myrtle Beach Man Arrested For Hanging On Traffic Light And Sh*tting On Cars Passing Underneath" (archived here) which opened:
Myrtle Beach, SC - A man has been arrested after he allegedly climbed a traffic light on a busy intersection and began sh*tting on cars passing underneath.
David Martinez, 41, was arrested by Myrtle Beach police after numerous calls about a man hanging from a traffic light and sh*tting on cars. Police and the fire department had to bring Martinez down via ladder. According to authorities Martinez was high on crystal meth and marijuana. Witnesses at the scene said Martinez told police
"People have been sh*tting on me my whole life. I thought it was time I gave some back".
Just a few weeks ago the exact same story appeared on Huzlers, a well known "fauxtire" site that publishes made up tales about bizarre crimes and weird sex acts and which carries a satire disclaimer:
Fake News: Florida Man NOT Arrested For Hanging On Traffic Light And Sh*tting On Cars Passing Underneath | Lead Stories
Was a man named Roy Stern arrested after defecating on passing cars while hanging from a traffic light? And was he under the influence of meth and cannabis? No, that's not true at all: the story was made up by a fauxtire site that invents tales about bizarre crimes in order to attract clicks and shares.
We wrote about other recent hoaxes that appeared on foxnews-us.com here:
- Fake News: Bloomington Police Did NOT Discover Over 200 Penises During Raid At Funeral Employee's Home
- Fake News: Bartlesville Woman NOT Awarded $1.4 Million After Suing Male Co-Workers For Excessive Farting.
- Fake News: Battle Creek Woman NOT Arrested For Stinking Up Toilet And Closing Down Restaurant
- Fake News: Syracuse Groom's Genitals NOT Blown Off by Best Man After Firework Explodes.
- Fake News: Tulsa Man NOT Caught Molesting Pig After His Penis Gets Stuck
The site tends to (re)publish fake stories (sometimes found elsewhere on the web) and usually changes some names and locations in order to come up with "new" articles. There is also some "filler" content on the site consisting of real news articles stolen from other sites.
NewsGuard, a startup ranking sites on their trustworthiness, describes foxnews-us.com like this:
A fake website purporting to be the site of Fox News that has spread false stories and is connected to other hoax news sites.
Don't be fooled!
