Westboro Baptist Church — the hate group that pickets at funerals of soldiers, children — recently got the bird from a spoof website. As a result, their phone lines were jammed up with calls from holiday cooks across the country.
The National Report, a spoof news website similar to The Onion, ran an article titled “Millions of Thanksgiving Turkeys Recalled: Is Your Family Safe?”. The article has been shared over a million times on Facebook and gotten hundreds of thousands of Likes and Tweets.
The article began with a dire warning about a deadly virus that had the potential to kill millions of Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey consumers.
“The CDC has confirmed that millions of turkeys have been recalled due to safety concerns over an avian virus that the birds may be harboring. The virus is related to human influenza virus but was thought to lack the ability to infect humans. However, it appears that the virus has recently developed the ability to move from bird hosts into humans.”
The article quoted a “CDC epidemiologist” as saying:
“We are in a very hazardous situation here. From our sampling efforts, we know that millions of turkeys that have been sold in the last weeks are harboring this virus. The handling, preparation, and eating of these turkeys could infect millions of people during the Thanksgiving holiday.”
The report went on to say that the virus could withstand cooking temperatures. They encouraged consumers to call a special 24-hour “Turkey Safety Hotline” at (785) 273-0325.
And that phone number is for Westboro Baptist Church.
According to Addicting Info, that prank resulted in much chagrin for Westboro followers and turkey cooks alike.
The National Report site has a legal disclaimer that informs readers that:
“Health statements and products that appear on National Report have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”
In other news, you now have Westboro Baptist Church’s phone number. With great power comes great responsibility.
