Faking News

News taken seriously

Two of the fake news reports by Faking News, "Unable to attract even a single girl, frustrated man sues Axe" and "Men talking loud on mobile during movies have smaller penises", were mistaken as being genuine and factual news reports by an Indian website Indiainfo.com on October 21, 2009, and were republished on their website. Subsequently, the Axe story was republished by many other websites and blogs in countries other than India, mistaking it to be a true story, twice by The Times of India on May 27, 2011 and on September 25, 2011 making it an urban legend. Another Faking News report titled "Unable to figure out Google Wave, youngster kills himself" was mistaken as being true by an Indian website Oneindia.in on November 10, 2009. Another instance of a Faking News article being taken seriously took place on December 22, 2013, when a satire article "IRCTC website running slow due to fog: committee report" was published as real news report by news magazine India Today. In another instance on May 28, 2014, legal team of BJP leader Nitin Gadkari quoted a Faking News article in their defence, mistaking it as a true news report, while arguing a defamation case.

Achievements

• Faking News' Rahul Roushan created a full page 'Parody Times' in India's leading newspaper Hindustan Times on September 2, 2012 as a spoof of a front page of the same newspaper.

Closing down

Faking news was closed down in July 2020. There are many reasons attributed towards the closing of this website but the company has not come out with any official statement. The most common reason is believed to be low revenue. It had over 370k visitors on its website and the revenue from google AdSense was very low. Another reason being attributed is the lack of creative content.

References

References

1. [http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/33168_Affle-appoints-Rahul-Roushan-as-head-content-services Affle appoints Rahul Roushan as head, content services] ''afaqs.com''. Retrieved 17 February 2013
2. "Twitter".
3. [http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/what-a-fake/article4547031.ece What a fake!] ''thehindu.com''. Retrieved 25 March 2013
4. [http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264510 Piquant Punch] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-10-13 ''outlookindia.com''. Retrieved 17 February 2013)
5. [http://travel.cnn.com/mumbai/news-satire-website-india-487883 Faking News: Making stuff up has never been so fun] ''cnn.com''. Retrieved 19 May 2013
6. [http://www.fakingnews.com/about/ About Us. Faking News- About us] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-05-14 ''fakingnews.com''. Retrieved 17 February 2013)
7. [http://blog.blogadda.com/2010/03/18/interview-pagal-patrakar-rahul-roushan-faking-news Exclusive Interview with Pagal Patrakar of Faking News] ''blog.blogadda.com''. Retrieved 17 February 2013
8. (2013-05-31). "Faking News is now a part of Network 18's Firstpost".
9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20091112154024/http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s2737707.htm ABC Media Watch: Loveless Fake Attracts the Media] ''abc.net.au''. Retrieved 19 May 2013
10. "Man sues Axe, as unable to get girl - Indiainfo.com (now removed)".
11. "Loud men have smaller penises - Indiainfo.com (now removed)".
12. "Demanda a Axe porque no conquistó chicas - Mexican website".
13. [http://www.e24.se/lifestyle/klacksparkar/artikel_1656127.e24 Fick inga brudar – stämmer Axe - Swedish website]
14. [http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/2009/10/31/man-sues-lynx-after-failing-to-pull-in-seven-years-86908-21786843/ Man sues Lynx after failing to pull in seven years - The Daily Record]
15. [http://www.ananova.com/News/story/sm_3542183.html Man sues over lack of 'Lynx effect' - Ananova (now removed)]
16. "After seven unlucky years, man sues for Axe 'failure' - The Australian (now removed)".
17. "Man sues Lynx after \failing to get girl - ninemsn (now removed)".
18. "Deo ads face the Axe effect (last paragraph) - The Times of India".
19. "The bottomline: How far can naughty go? (fourth paragraph) - The Times of India".
20. "'Axe Effect' Lawsuit in India a Hoax - Asylum.com".
21. [http://news.oneindia.in/2009/11/10/vadodara-youth-kills-himself-over-google-wave.html Vadodara youth kills himself over Google Wave - OneIndia.com (now removed)]{{Dead link. (August 2019)
22. [https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/fog-hits-train-services-in-north-india-221605-2013-12-21 Fog hits IRCTC website, claims committee report - India Today]
23. [http://www.firstpost.com/india/when-gadkaris-legal-team-thought-a-faking-news-story-was-real-1546583.html When Gadkari’s legal team thought a Faking News story was real]
24. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120903040527/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Spoof-alert/Article1-923235.aspx Spoof Alert Hindustan Times]
25. (2020-08-28). "What Happened To FakingNews Website? Why FakingNews Has Stopped Working? Is FakingNews Dead? > AllTimeTrends".