Did a 21-year old man from Tucson, Arizona named Josiah Johnson need to go to hospital with severe burns after his Apple Airpods exploded in his ear? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a website that publishes tales of weird crimes, bizarre sex acts and strange accidents under the guise of "fauxtire". It did not really happen.
The story originated from an article published by Huzlers on December 24, 2018 titled "Man Hospitalized After His Apple Airpods Exploded In His Ear" (archived here) which opened:
TUCSON, AZ - An Arizona man is being hospitalized after his brand new Apple AirPod earphones allegedly exploded in his ear.
Josiah Johnson, 21, is being hospitalized with 2nd degree burns on his face after his Airpods exploded. According to Josiah, who admitted to have been watching pornography when his Airpods exploded, also has 1st degree burns on his penis and tesitcles. "I ain't buy my 3 year old son any presents this year because i bought the airpods instead, and now this, couldn't even get my nut on" said Josiah as he was laying in his hospital bed.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail and would not have seen it did not come from a real news website:
Man Hospitalized After His Apple Airpods Exploded In His Ear
TUCSON, AZ - An Arizona man is being hospitalized after his brand new Apple AirPod earphones allegedly exploded in his ear. Josiah Johnson, 21, is being hospitalized with 2nd degree burns on his face after his Airpods exploded. According to Josiah, who admitted to have been watching pornography when his Airpods exploded, also has 1st ...
Huzlers styles itself as a "fauxtire" website and carries a disclaimer at the bottom of each page:
Huzlers.com is the most infamous fauxtire & satire entertainment website in the world. If it's trending on social media you'll find it here!
The picture of the ear with second degree burns already appeared in this medical journal article from 2012:
Management of ear burns Sarabahi S - Indian J Burns
Indian J Burns, Official publication of National Academy of Burns,India
Apple Airpods weren't released until December 2016 so it would have been impossible they caused the injuries shown in the picture.
According to Splinter News Huzlers is run by Pablo Reyes and David Martinez and according to Buzzfeed Reyes is involved with several other fake news websites. They tend to shy away from political stories, opting instead to write for a more "urban" audience, with stories about rappers, criminals and celebrities.
We wrote about huzlers.com before, here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: Judge Did NOT Order Premium Snapchat Model to Pay $60k in Taxes to IRS After Multiple Reports by Internet Users
- Fake News: Florida's 'Neck Guy' Did NOT Undergo Plastic Surgery To Decrease Neck Size
- Fake News: Man Did NOT Beat Little Brother After He Found Him Masturbating During "No Nut November"
- Fake News: Bill Nye The Science Guy NOT Arrested For Manufacturing And Distribution Of Drugs From His Lab
- Fake News: New Scientific Study Did NOT Show 95% Of Men Who Wear Skinny Jeans Are Attracted To Men
