Was a Californian yoga instructor named Donald O'Keefe (aka "Sri Shiva Vaginanda") arrested after the cops received 200 sexual harrassment complaints about his "Vaginayoga" classes? No, that's not true: the story originally appeared on a site that makes a living by inventing tales about bizarre crimes and sex acts. It is not real.
The story originated from an article published by World News Daily Report on August 16, 2018 titled "Vaginayoga instructor arrested after police receive 200 sexual harassment complaints" (archived here) which opened:
Beverly Hills, CA | A Californian yoga instructor has been arrested after hundreds of sexual harassment complaints were filed to the Beverly Hills Police Department in a matter of only a few days.
Donald O'Keefe, 48, who dubbed himself as Sri Shiva Vaginanda to his students, has been arrested and interrogated before being released on bail.
Over 200 complaints of improper sexual conduct were reported to the Beverly Hills Police Department in less than 96 hours said one official.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail and might be confused into thinking this was a real story about sexual assault:
Vaginayoga instructor arrested after police receive 200 sexual harassment complaints
Beverly Hills, CA | A Californian yoga instructor has been arrested after hundreds of sexual harassment complaints were filed to the Beverly Hills Police Department in a matter of only a few days. Donald O'Keefe, 48, who dubbed himself as Sri Shiva Vaginanda to his students, has been arrested
The image used to illustrate the article is from a wrestler named Scot Hall who was arrested in Florida in 2003:
PWPIX.NET : Pro Wrestling Pix : Scott Hall Mugshot (No. 4)
Photos, news, information, videos and more on the world of professional wrestling.
The website World News Daily Report is a well known satire website specialized in posting hoaxes and made up stories. The disclaimer on their website is pretty clear about that even though you have to scroll all the way down the page to find it:
World News Daily Report assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website - even those based on real people - are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any person, living, dead or undead, is purely a miracle.
It is run by Janick Murray-Hall and Olivier Legault, who also run the satirical Journal de Mourréal, a satirical site spoofing the (real) Journal de Montéal. Very often their stories feature an image showing a random crazy mugshot found in a mugshot gallery on the internet or on a stock photo website superimposed over a background of flashing police lights or crime scene tape.
Articles from the site are frequently copied (sometimes even months or years later) by varous fake news websites that omit the satire disclaimer and present the information as real.
We wrote about worldnewsdailyreport.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: German Tourist NOT Emasculated After Putting Penis Inside Giant Flesh-Eating Snail
- Fake News: British Man NOT Suffering From Rare Medical Condition, Does NOT Defecate Through His Mouth
- Fake News: Woman Did NOT Choke To Death After Fiance Hides Ring In Cake To Propose
- Fake News: Vegan Lion Tamer NOT Arrested For Feeding His Animals Only Carrots
- Fake News: Boston Pastor NOT Accused Of Coating Hosts With Cocaine, Crystal Meth Before Service
