WORLD — Fake news media across the globe have reported that a mass shooting occurred in Australia, which is literally impossible because guns are illegal there.
Despite the patent absurdity of criminals using guns, which are banned, several major news stations in the United States repeated the obviously fictional story.
"It's embarrassing how many news outlets were duped by this clearly fake story," said misinformation expert Harold Cannon. "It would have taken thirty seconds for these so-called news stations to simply Google gun laws in Australia, and they would have known the story couldn't be true. You simply can't have a shooting when guns have been banned. What a shameful day for journalistic integrity."
CNN and CBS News have issued corrections and apologized for running the story about the mass shooting. "We were so taken in by the eyewitness accounts of the shooting, we forgot that guns are illegal in Australia," explained CNN correspondent Anderson Cooper. "Apparently, the people claiming to have seen the shooter were suffering from some sort of mass delusion. Guns are banned, so criminals can't have guns. This story is another shocking example of how misinformation can spread, and the responsibility we all have to fight it. We promise to do better."
At publishing time, hospitals in Australia had sent several patients for psychiatric care after they claimed to have been shot.
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