Image: © depositphotos.com/palinchak
According to a post that is currently making its way around the Interwebs, Pope Francis has shocked his followers during his visit to Ireland by declaring that the Catholic faith is ‘all a load of bollocks’ and that “if someone was in charge of this world they’d have intervened by now”.
But, it should hardly need to be stated that the claims are untrue. Of course, Pope Francis never made the remarks attributed to him in the message.
In fact, the story comes from the satirical website Waterford Whispers News. The site notes in a disclaimer:
Waterford Whispers News is a satirical newspaper and website published by Waterford Whispers News. Waterford Whispers News uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.
And, disclaimer aside, the tongue-in-cheek style of the report clearly indicates that it is satirical and was never intended to be taken seriously.
Nevertheless, submissions indicate that at least a few people have mistakenly concluded that the story is real news.
An example of the post:
Since you’ve read this far…
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Brett Christensen
