Fake-News: ‘Charles Manson Granted Parole’
This story was first published on June 8, 2014
Outline:
Circulating reports claim that notorious criminal Charles Manson has been granted parole and will soon walk free.
Brief Analysis:
The claims in the reports are untrue. Charles Manson has not been granted parole. Nor is there any indication that he will be granted parole anytime soon. The false parole reports are published by various fake-news websites as a means of gaining more site visitors. New variants of the fake reports surface every few months.
Circulating reports claim that notorious criminal Charles Manson has been granted parole and will soon walk free.
Brief Analysis:
The claims in the reports are untrue. Charles Manson has not been granted parole. Nor is there any indication that he will be granted parole anytime soon. The false parole reports are published by various fake-news websites as a means of gaining more site visitors. New variants of the fake reports surface every few months.
Example:
In a stunning turn on events, it has been announced that long time prisoner will be released from on prison and located to a small country home in Joshua, TX. One of the most famous killers in the American prison system will be walking free.
In a stunning turn on events, it has been announced that long time prisoner will be released from on prison and located to a small country home in Joshua, TX. One of the most famous killers in the American prison system will be walking free.
Example:
Charles Manson Granted ParoleCorcoran, California – One of the most famous killers in the American prison system will be walking free. On Tuesday Charles Manson, who is now 79 years old, was granted parole by the California Board of Parole and authorized by California Governor Jerry Brown.
Charles Manson Granted ParoleCorcoran, California – One of the most famous killers in the American prison system will be walking free. On Tuesday Charles Manson, who is now 79 years old, was granted parole by the California Board of Parole and authorized by California Governor Jerry Brown.
Detailed Analysis:
According to a report that is circulating rapidly via social media, notorious killer Charles Manson has been granted parole and is set to walk free from prison. The report, which has raised considerable consternation as it travels the interwebs, claims that authorities have decided to release Manson and other elderly prisoners in an effort to relieve prison overcrowding.
However, the report, which was originally published on the Empire News website back in 2014 is just a silly hoax. Charles Manson has not been granted parole. His next parole hearing is set for 2027 and has not been brought forward as claimed.
Empire News is a publication that churns out a stream of fanciful nonsense disguised as news. Nothing published on the site should be taken seriously. It includes the following disclaimer on its About page:
Nevertheless, because its articles are presented as news reports, many readers believe that Empire News stories are true and tend to share them with friends.
Since Empire News first published the false report, a number of other-fake news website have regurgitated the same false tale. In fact, new variants tend to appear every few months.
In July 2017, a new version appeared on a fake news website that calls itself “BreakingNews365”. Like all of its sorry predecessors, this latest version is pure fiction. BreakingNews365 bills itself as an entertainment website and notes in a footer disclaimer that its material “should not be seriously taken or as a source of information”.
It is wise to fact check any news report that comes your way via social media or email before you share it. Especially if the report covers a strange or controversial topic or seems far-fetched.
A quick check of a news aggregator such as Google News should allow you to see if a story is true. Of course, if Charles Manson really had been granted parole, many high profile news outlets around the world would have reported it. Thus, verifying the story via multiple news sources would have been a trivial task.
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