No man buns were harmed as fake news about a vigilante cutting them off spread on social media
Are man buns the latest victim of religious zealotry?
A satirical headline circulating on social media has duped at least a few people.
“Criminal caught after cutting off 37 man buns in one day, claims he ‘was doing the lord’s work,’” the Feb. 20 headline says. The man in the police booking photo below the headline is smiling.
A post sharing a screenshot of the headline was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)
Not captured in the screenshot: the publication name.
“Daily News Reported,” it says at the top of the website. “Not quite daily. Not quite news.”
The website’s “About Us” page says “Daily News Reported is a fabricated satirical newspaper and comedy website.”
The story where this headline originated identifies the fake criminal as 33-year-old Craig Ledbetter of Los Angeles.
In reality, the booking photo is from 2017 and shows someone who was arrested on grounds he jumped on stage during a Britney Spears concert in Las Vegas.
We rate claims this headline is authentic False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Feb. 17, 2023
Blog post, Feb. 10, 2023
USA Today, Man arrested for rushing stage at Britney Spears' Las Vegas show, Aug. 10, 2017
