Millions Of Thanksgiving Turkeys Recalled? Angry People Blow Up Westboro Baptist Church Phone Lines

An article is making the rounds on social media that claims millions of Thanksgiving turkeys were being recalled due to the avian flu.

The recall information is posted on The National Report and claims that tainted turkeys are harboring the avian flu virus which could infect humans even if the turkey fully cooked.

“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.”

However, The National Report is not a real news site. It is a satire web publication that posts completely fictitious stories. Though the publication no longer features their satire disclaimer, the site used to have a small blurb at the bottom that explained to users that the publication featured “fake news.”

“National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental.”

The Epoch Times reported on the fake turkey story and notes that the publication’s publisher took the disclaimer down and feels that it is a reader’s responsibility to look for at least one source that collaborates a story before taking it at face value.

“It is our opinion that if a person is too lazy to check for multiple references [or at least one other source] … and they spread misinformation around as fact, then they are to blame for their own stupidity, not us.”

The Epoch Times did not find the satire piece funny. In fact, they said it wasn’t funny at all. However, I think they missed one really REALLY important key detail about the story, the “recall” phone number.

If you look at the fake turkey recall story, you notice that a number is given for the CDC turkey recall hotline and claims it is open 24/7.

“The hotline is available 24 hours a day at (785) 273-0325”

Now that you know the story is completely fake, you have to wonder where all those phone call were going, right? This is where The National Report got my laughs, the phone number is the main listing for Westboro Baptist Church. If you aren’t familiar with this “church,” they are known for their outlandish behavior, boycotting soldiers funerals, homophobia and all-around negative press anywhere they go.

If you read the hundreds of comments on the original article you can see that at least a few hundred people blew up the Westboro Baptist Church phone lines regarding their tainted turkeys. In fact, numerous posters were unhappy with the busy signal they kept getting and wondered why there weren’t more lines open for this type of national crisis. Therefore, it is safe to say that Westboro Baptist Church received quite a few angry calls making it a pretty funny joke to many who disapprove of Westboro’s actions.

What do you think of the turkey recall hoax? Is it funny or should all satire be labeled?