False News Stories (Article)

Again from that close-knit forum I fondly remember from my youth, another member there had a habit of making new topic about an event from the news, and then just copy-pasting the story from a news website. She still does it, but not as often anymore. No-one minded - in fact it was a good way of starting a topic off - but I thought it might be entertaining to affectionatly parody this by starting a thread with blantantly fake news stories in them. I eneded up posting two such stories. Here they are.

Federal Government Forgets Katrina Anniversary
08-29-2007 12:59 PM

NEW ORLEANS (FNN 24/7) -- New Orleans marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Wednesday, though many residents of the Gulf Coast region felt slighted that no one from the federal government showed up as promised to acknowledge the occasion.

"I'm not sure if we should wait or just start without them," said resident Robyn Olds, on hand for a groundbreaking ceremony at a memorial for still-unidentified victims.

"Oh, shoot," said President Bush, when reminded of the anniversary. "That was today, wasn't it."

To make up for his absence, the president had someone call his cell phone - which he set to a chime ring to symbolize the sounds of bells tolling for the dead.

"Obviously, some mistakes were made," said government spokesman Aaron Walker. "We hope to learn from what happened today so that our response will be faster when future anniversaries occur."

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London - The Pokemon fad was suddenly ended today when a crazed fan of the long-running series shot its creator, Satoshi Tajiri, 5 times at point blank range before being restrained by Tojiri's security detail.

Tojiri, a known recluse, was, according to the press release, enjoying a rare day out taking in the sights of London. Shortly after getting off the London Eye, he was approached by a male described as being in his mid 30s, blonde, wearing glasses, a backpack and a Pokemon t-shirt.

The fan apparently asked Tojiri a series of questions, which he answered in a polite manner. Several onlookers have described the two as having a seemingly friendly conversation, with the fan even telling a joke that Tojiri found extremely funny. It was shortly after this however, that the conversation took a turn for the worse.

Apparently disagreeing with a comment that Tojiri made, the fan pulled a handgun from the backpack and short Tojiri several times in the chest before Tojiri's security detail were able to subdue the man. They held him to the pavement for several minutes until an ambulance arrived, however when it did so, he managed to slip away in the confusion.

Tojiri is currently in hospital, his condition serious. The police have put out an APV on anyone matching the description of the man and wish to speak to anyone in the London area who has enjoyed any of the Pokemon series, be it film, TV show or game, within the last 6 months.