Outline
Circulating image depicts a clipped newspaper story that claims a boy wrote a letter to Santa in which he threatens to put his sister’s kitten in a blender if he does not get a PS4 for Christmas.
Brief Analysis
The story is almost certainly fictional. The story comes from the British tabloid newspaper, Sunday Sport, which specializes in publishing ludicrous and fanciful nonsense. Nothing published in the newspaper should be taken seriously and this silly story is no exception.
Example
Detailed Analysis
An image currently circulating via social media depicts a clipping from a newspaper that tells the story of a naughty little boy named “Damian” who allegedly threatened to put his sister’s kitten in a blender if Santa does not bring him a PS4 on Christmas Day.
Supposedly, Damian presented the ultimatum directly to Santa himself via a letter in which he also admits that he has not been good this year and does not intend to start now. The story includes a picture of Damian apparently relaxing with a beer and a cigarette.
However, the story is almost certainly a work of fiction that has simply been made up to shock or entertain. The story originates from “Sunday Sport”, a trashy British tabloid that specializes in made up stories and faked pictures presented as news articles along with salacious gossip, and nudity.
And, of course, the picture of Damian is likely posed. The beer can looks unopened and the cigarette does not appear to be lit.
In fact, nothing in Sunday Sport should be taken seriously. The tabloid is obviously intended purely as entertainment. And the story of young “Damian” is no exception.
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
