Turkey buyers across the United States were confused this week after a hoax story went viral that millions of birds bound for the Thanksgiving holiday dinner tables, were being recalled.
A fake news website called the National Report claimed in an article that millions of turkeys were infected with the avian virus or the bird flu. The notorious website even quoted an authentic-looking warning from the Centres for Disease Control.
"The CDC has confirmed that millions of turkeys have been recalled due to safety concerns over an avian virus that the birds may be harbouring," the website quoted the CDS as saying.
The article further claimed that the turkeys turn green after being cooked and can make one extremely sick. The fake report also included a turkey recall hotline, supposedly established by the CDC.
The news article was shared on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Many people fell prey to the elaborate hoax.
Health officials have confirmed that all turkeys are safe.
'The National Report' is the same website that recently sent millions of Facebook users into a frenzy with a claim that Facebook was about to charge a monthly fee.
The bottom line is that not a single report run on the website is true.
