So the latest internet hoax going on is this:
A story claiming a huge python ate a drunk man on the streets of India, after he fell asleep outside a liquor store in Attapadi area in the state Kerala, India.
Here are some of the headlines:
According to HoaxSlayer, the image originated in South Africa, not India.
The claims in the message are untrue. The very same picture has been circulating in other contexts since at least September, 2012. Linda Laina Nyatoro did post the image on her Facebook page in June 2013, but states in comments that she did not witness the attack as claimed in the message. Earlier versions variously claim that the snake in the picture swallowed a drunken man asleep by a roadway, a man in Jakarta, Indonesia after floods hit the region, and a snake expert that was tending to the snake. None of these variants to the story have been confirmed by any credible news reports. While large snakes such as rock pythons have killed humans, confirmed and documented cases of such snakes actually swallowing adult humans are very rare.
Earlier this month too, there was another satirical article that appeared on an American website reporting a rape festival taking place in India’s northeastern state of Assam.
Here’s the snippet of the article:
Men in India are already beginning to celebrate as the annual Assam Rape Festival is just days away. Every non-married girl age 7-16 will have the chance to flee to safety or get raped.
Madhuban Ahluwalia who heads up the annual festival told reporters why the event is so important. “This is a long time tradition in Assam dating back thousands of years,” says Ahluwalia. “We rape the evil demons out of the girls, otherwise they will cheat on us and we will be forced to kill them. So it is necessary for everyone.”
The news became an Internet sensation as well, where news of the “Rape” was shared around the Internet, causing outrage amongst people in India. Dr. Manmohan Singh who is the Prime Minister of India, threatened to end the country’s diplomatic relations with the United States until they “have received a sincere apology from President Barack Obama.”
The story of the python and the great India rape are just a few examples of baseless stories which are going around the Internet. Coincidentally, both stories are India related. These stories spread like wildfire thanks to social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.
So the next time you read a story, find out whether it’s true, before you decide to fuel the flame and spread it more.
Read also: This dead Thai man wished he hadn’t bought that iPhone charger and cable