On July 3, 2012, the website published a satirical article saying that Rick Santorum had been caught using the gay dating app Grindr by a journalist during an interview.

[7] The article was reported as fact by news outlets in Texas,[8] went viral on the Internet[9][10] and appeared on the website of La Repubblica, Italy's largest national newspaper.

[15][16][17] Viral e-mails and Facebook posts said in 2013 that NASA's Curiosity rover had found gigantic stone tablets in a cave near Aeolis Mons which were marked with the Ten Commandments and the phrase "I Am Real".

The article contained a number of references to fictional characters, including one to Breaking Bad's Jesse Pinkman.

Its satirical nature was not recognized by some, including Swedish Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask[19] and Annapolis Police Department chief Michael A.