“Virginia man arrested for having Minecraft worlds that were exact replicas of classified U.S. military bases.”
Viral story about arrest for Minecraft is misinformation
If your time is short
• The claim is a screenshot that shows the logo of the Anchorage Daily News, a story headline and the byline of a reporter, but the reporter and the editor of the newspaper said the article is fake.
A viral claim that mimics the look of a newspaper article and includes the byline of a real reporter is, in fact, fake news.
The claim, shared in a Facebook post, reads, “Virginia man arrested for having Minecraft worlds that were exact replicas of classified U.S. military bases.” It includes the logo of the Anchorage Daily News and the byline Morgan Krakow.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Krakow, who is a reporter at the Anchorage Daily News, wrote on Twitter that the article is fabricated and she did not author it. David Hulen, the editor of the newspaper, told Reuters that the newspaper never wrote or published the article.
The image of the article previously has appeared on iFunny.com, where users share memes.
We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
Our Sources
Facebook post, Oct. 28, 2021
iFunny.com post, accessed Nov. 2, 2021
Reuters, "Fact Check-Screenshot purporting to show Anchorage Daily News article about man with Minecraft worlds identical to US military bases is digitally altered," Oct. 30, 2021
Twitter post, Oct. 29. 2021
WKYC Studios, "Article claiming man was arrested for creating replicas of military bases in Minecraft is fake," Oct. 29, 2021
