Was a New Orleans hairdresser named Enoch Azaka arrested for creating voodoo dolls out of the hair of his customers? No, that's not true: the story was made up by a website that invents tales of bizarre crimes and weird sex acts for entertainment purposes. It did not happen for real.
The story originated from an article published by World News Daily Report on September 7, 2018 titled "Hairdresser arrested for making voodoo dolls from customers' hair" (archived here) which opened:
A hairdresser from New-Orleans was arrested this morning and accused of using his customers' hair to create voodoo dolls and cast curses upon them.
According to the New-Orleans Police Department (NOPD), 29-year old Enoch Azaka collected the hair he cut from his customers at the Old City Barber Shop and used it in black magic rituals.
"We found a voodoo altar in the store's basement with dozens of dolls. We also found baggies full of hair, each marked with the names of the customers it came from."
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
Hairdresser arrested for making voodoo dolls from customers' hair
A hairdresser from New-Orleans was arrested this morning and accused of using his customers' hair to create voodoo dolls and cast curses upon them. According to the New-Orleans Police Department (NOPD), 29-year old Enoch Azaka collected the hair he cut from his customers at the Old City Barber Shop
Unfortunately the real story behind the mugshot used in the story is a lot more tragic:
Father admits fatally punching baby, leaving body in hearse
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. -- A Maryland man has pleaded guilty in the death of his infant son. The Prince George's County State's Attorney's office announced Wednesday that Antoine Petty pleaded guilty to first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of his 2-month-old son in September.
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: San Diego Zoo Rhino Did NOT Have 96-hour-long Erection After Teenagers Feed It Viagra
- Fake News: Georgia Woman (66) Did NOT Auction Her Virginity to Pay For Sex Change
- Fake News: Grandparents Did NOT Sue Hypnotherapist After He Failed to Turn Grandson Heterosexual
- Fake News: Chicago Man Did NOT Pose as Doctor, Did NOT Perform Colonoscopies, Genital Exams on Patients
- Fake News: NO Vaginayoga Instructor Arrested After Police Receive 200 Sexual Harassment Complaints
