74 °f
Portsmouth
72 ° Fri
75 ° Sat
74 ° Sun
Thursday, June 1
Scioto County Daily News
  • Login
  • Register
SUBMIT TIP
  • News
    • Front Page
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Crime
    • Economy
    • Education
    • Feel Good
    • Food & Drinks
    • National
    • Opinion
    • Politics
    • Public Safety
    • Regional
    • All News
  • Obituaries
  • Mugshots
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Submit Anonymous Tip
  • Submit an Article
No Result
View All Result
Scioto County Daily News
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
Scioto County Daily News
No Result
View All Result

Fake Portsmouth News Goes Viral

Cyn Mackley by Cyn Mackley
3 years ago
in Feel Good
Fake Portsmouth news goes viral
ShareTweetEmail

Fake news is real and this week Portsmouth has gone viral with a bit of it. This Facebook post from a site that calls itself Portsmouth Ohio Offical went up two days ago and has already been shared almost 40,000 times. That translates into millions and millions of views all over the world on Facebook alone. An Illinois TV station actually picked up the story but has since deleted it from their website.

According to the alleged “Fugitive Alert,” police are searching for a Sciotoville resident who convinced three local churches that he was British pop singer Ed Sheeran and performed one of his hits in front of Christ Community Search for $35 and a sandwich. It includes a photo of an unknown individual that is clearly not Ed Sheeran. It could be a mugshot. It could be some guy’s driver’s license photo.

RELATED POSTS

Commissioners Discuss Liquor Sales at Fairgrounds

9 months ago
Sunsets on the 23rd Dave Purdin Fly-in.

The 23rd Dave Purdin Fly-In brings hundreds to Scioto County

9 months ago
Rachael Anne Enriquez

Portsmouth Children Escape Kidnapper – New Boston Woman Arrested

9 months ago
Portsmouth Man Arrested For Compelling Prostitution

Portsmouth Man Arrested For Compelling Prostitution

9 months ago

I learned about this viral photo when a former coworker of mine who lives in Texas shared it. He’s never been to Portsmouth. Might not even know about it exists. And humorously enough he’s a former news anchor and news director. The post has drawn close to 20,000 comments. Some of them get that it’s a joke, but most are furiously angry that anyone would call the police on this poor homeless Ed Sheeran impersonator.

One woman wrote, “This is the least Christian thing I’ve ever read.”

Tom Boutwood said, “Of course an American church is going to get the police involved because they accidentally gave a homeless person money.”

Others pointed out that churches don’t have to pay taxes and the least they could do was help this poor homeless guy.

The catch is, none of this is real. Portsmouth Ohio Official is a humor site with made-up stories that has nothing to do with any government agency. It says so right at the top of their page if you care to look.

For me, the first tip-off was how funny and well-written the press release is. Police officials are usually too busy fighting crime to write good linear stories.

While this is all in good fun, even if it does make us look kind of mean down here, parody and satire sites like these are important to keep in mind during an election year. A lot of times you will find outrageous stories about candidates from these sites shared by people who absolutely believe they are real. I’ve even seen things like this picked up by news sites that aren’t careful to verify.

Tags: fakefunPortsmouth OhioScioto Countyviral

TRENDING NOW

No Content Available

ABOUT US

We are a grassroots team of local journalists on a mission to give our community up-to-the-second news and events for Southern Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Western West Virginia. We believe progress inspires change and we believe our reporting has become the front-lines of Portsmouth, Ohio's comeback.

CATEGORIES

  • Arts & Entertainment
  • Crime
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Feel Good
  • Food & Drink
  • Local Business
  • National
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Public Safety
  • Regional
  • Strange But True
  • VIdeo

AREAS SERVED

  • Portsmouth
  • Wheelersburg
  • Minford
  • Waverly
  • Friendship
  • Ironton
  • West Union
  • Piketon
  • Coal Grove
  • South Point
  • Vanceburg
  • Grayson
  • South Shore
  • Greenup
  • Raceland
  • Ashland

SITE SEARCH

No Result
View All Result
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Scioto County Daily News. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • News
  • Obituaries
  • Video
    • Review // Preview
    • Local Music
    • View All Videos
  • Local Gas Prices
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise on SCDN
    • Submit a Tip

© 2021 Scioto County Daily News. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
OR

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In