Hoax Alert: Bow And Arrow Wielding Cupid NOT Shot Dead By Armed Response Unit

Fact Check

  • by: Maarten Schenk

cupidhoax.jpg

Lovers of the world can breathe a sight of relief: contrary to reports circulating on the internet, Cupid has not been shot dead by London police. According to the fake story making the rounds, the cherubic love angel was spotted firing an arrow of love at a man, after which several people reported "an armed man" flying around London's parks and coffee shops.

Police, doing what police do, neutralized the thread with three well-aimed shots. Cupid was then said to have died at a hospital later on. A Sergeant Brian Carver of the Metropolitan Police was quoted to have said:

I don't care if he's a mythical creature that brings love to people - if he's carrying a weapon, for whatever purposes, I can guarantee that he will be shot down.

Of course, none of it is true: it is just a piece of satire from Britain's best satirical news website News Thump. But that didn't stop hundreds of worried lovers from sharing the news on Facebook today. Fortunately they don't need to worry, we still love all of them, even the ones who mistakenly shared the news assuming the cops really shot someone dressed as Cupid.

(Image: clipartbest.com)


  Maarten Schenk

Lead Stories co-founder Maarten Schenk is our resident expert on fake news and hoax websites. He likes to go beyond just debunking trending fake news stories and is endlessly fascinated by the dazzling variety of psychological and technical tricks used by the people and networks who intentionally spread made-up things on the internet.  He can often be found at conferences and events about fake news, disinformation and fact checking when he is not in his office in Belgium monitoring and tracking the latest fake article to go viral.

Read more about or contact Maarten Schenk

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