A Florida man killing his imaginary friend and then turning himself in to police for the crime is fake news. There is no truth to reports that the man named Geoff Gaylord turned himself in to police for killing his make-believe companion, Mr. Happy. Where did this fake news originate?
The entertainment web site Moron.com published the article on May 12, 2015, reporting that Gaylord had turned himself in to police for killing his imaginary friend. You can read the fake news below.
Geoff Gaylord, 37, entered the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office earlier today and turned himself in for killing his imaginary friend — Mr. Happy. Gaylord told officers he had stabbed Mr. Happy repeatedly with a kitchen knife, cut up the body with a hatchet and buried the victim in his backyard.Gaylord said he killed his imaginary friend of seven years for multiple reasons — one, for being messy.
“His room was a mess all the time with his toys and dolls,” Gaylord told police. “He left his empty vodka bottles all over the kitchen… never picked up his empty cocaine baggies and left the toilet seat down when he peed. He messed up my apartment to the point where I just couldn’t get it clean. Before Hap started doing drugs and acting weird he was my BFF (best friend forever). We’d go dancing, play on the children’s park equipment, both huge fans of doom metal — listened to it for hours with the lights turned off.”
The above story fooled thousands of readers as it quickly spread across social media. At least two web sites, the Inquisitr and Mandatory, republished it as if it were real news. However, there was no truth to the story, according to Snopes. Although Moron.com does not state that it is an entertainment web site, it does offer several clues suggesting that the site is another spreader of fake news.
Here are some examples of people sharing the fake news on social media.
@danielvankirk https://t.co/XTCANCFi1K #dumbpeopletown
— Paul Lurie (@plurie) August 25, 2017
@frangeladuo I"ve seen my share of #iotw candidates over the years but this one"s unique https://t.co/HypLJil0iJ #thefinalwordpodcast
— Allen Fisher (@allen_fisher) August 24, 2017
#Florida, you"re something else. #headlinenews Florida Man On Drugs Kills Imaginary Friend and Turns Himself In
— Toussaint L"Hussier (@HappyAmazonTwo) August 8, 2017
Florida man kills imaginary friend and turns himself in
— Ray (@TheKraang) May 29, 2017
My sister just told me about a Florida man who took drugs, killed his imaginary friend, and then turned himself in. ONLY IN FLORIDA.
— Killer Ky (@Kylee_Gates) January 22, 2017
Florida Man Turns Himself In For Murdering Imaginary Friend https://t.co/dFgFuk3rBB @DubuissonPaul @Rati0nality @gbowling2
— Filthy Monkey Man (@DannytheInfidel) December 14, 2016
Florida man on drugs kills imaginary friend & turns himself in pic.twitter.com/MxubldPfYO
—
~ B ~
(@LyfBeCrzy) December 6, 2016
First, the author of this article is listed as “Moron.” Second, the web site has previously published fake news stories. Lastly, the photograph included with the above article does not show a man named Geoff Gaylord who murdered his imaginary friend. Rather, the above image is actually a man named Billy Southern, who was included in WTSP-TV’s gallery of “crying mugshots” in 2011.
Mandatory added a disclaimer to their version stating:
Editor’s Note: So apparently this story comes from a phony site. Oh well. Even the smartest people in the world (read: Mandatory editors) get fooled every now and then. Enjoy the story anyway.
What did you think of the fake news about a Florida man murdering his imaginary friend? Did you believe it or see people sharing it falsely on social media? Let us know in the comments section.
Source: B2C
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