It may be time to update our personal lists of faux news sites. On Sunday morning, a fake news site that looks almost identical to ABC News' site reported thatJoaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán escaped from Altiplano, the maximum security prison he was returned to three weeks ago.
The news sent many into a frenzy, especially since the drug kingpin has hatched and executed elaborate escape plans in the past. The fake site really sold the story. They offered a timeline of events, quotes from undercover F.B.I. agents, and details about El Chapo's previous escapes. It was easily believable, though it isn't true.
Twitter and other social media platforms were in arms over the rumored escape. "El Chapo be breaking outta jail like he's The Joker at Arkham Asylum," one user tweeted.
However, as TheWrap notes, simple fact-checking proves the story's fakeness. TheWrap reported that "The quotation attributed to a DEA spokesperson is a verbatim transcription of a speech made by Tommy Lee Jones in the 1993 movie The Fugitive, with the Harrison Ford character Richard Kimble’s name substituted with “El Chapo."
For the record, El Chapo's still locked up and the Mexican government plans to keep him incarcerated.
