Bristol received its dose of fake news Wednesday when an article claimed actor Ashton Kutcher spoke highly of the riverfront community in a radio interview after his rental car broke down.
The truth: No, no, no. The story is fake and the website that hosts the tidbit about Kutcher is a clickbait ad mill just ginning up views to make money.
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The site – KBC 14 News – features tons of ads about toe fungus treatments, gay celebrities and shocking crimes that likely never happened.
According to the fake article, Kutcher was helped by the people of Bristol after his rental vehicle broke down. He then went to the “finest dining spot in all of Bristol – some place on Mill Street.” After having “one hell of a great sandwich,” he went on his way and vowed to retire to Bristol.
The same exact article – minus the change in location – is found on another fake news website that mentions Westbrook, Maine. A further search turns up similar articles featuring other celebrities “visiting” towns around the country.
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The article, which falsely calls Bristol a “city,” is designed to take advantage of social media buzz.
Buzzfeed editor Craig Silverman, who has examined fake news following the election, wrote that the trick has been used before in a ploy mentioning celebrities were planning a move to various towns across the country. He called it one of the “biggest fake news scams of all time.”
Credit: Erich Martin/LevittownNow.com
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LevittownNow.com was not able to get in touch with the owner of the KBC 14 News hoax site.
While Bristolians have seen celebrities like Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and businessman Robert Herjavec in town recently, be sure Ashton Kutcher was NOT here.
Remember the old adage: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
