A viral news story that at least one of your relatives shared on Facebook without questioning it has unsurprisingly been determined a hoax. The story, which claimed that a married couple discovered they were twins during IVF treatment, originated from a Mississippi Herald article dated April 13. Despite the article's lack of details and the fact that it came from a site that recently claimed a man had been seduced by a horse, multiple outlets—including Elite Daily and Fox News—picked up the story.
The original article included no identifying details of anyone involved in the story. Additionally, the article credits no author with writing it. Due to the similarity in name, the Mirror (who also picked up the fake story) asked the night editor of the Mississippi Sun-Herald about the apparent hoax. "There is not a Mississippi Herald," Anderson said. "Our web editor is aware of this story and the Mississippi Herald appears to be the only source of this news." The Sun-Herald staff, Anderson added, suspects the story is "a fake news story."
The Mississippi Herald website, as noted in a Snopes report, suspiciously contains no real contact information aside from a contact form. The site also makes no mention of editors, writers, or staff of any kind. The married twins hoax is also noticeably similar to a previous, equally full-of-shit story from the Denver Inquirer published in December. According to Snopes, the Denver Inquirer is also considered a "fake newspaper" designed for "no other ostensible purpose" than to spread fabricated shit.
During moments like these, I'm reminded of some sage advice from Denzel Washington. "What a responsibility you all have, to tell the truth," Washington told the Washington Post in December. "Not just to be first, but to tell the truth. We live in a society now where it's just first, who cares. Get it out there. We don't care who it hurts. We don't care who we destroy. We don't care if it's true. Just say it. Sell it. Anything you practice, you'll get good at it. Including B.S."
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