'The Onion' dupes Bangladeshi newspapers

[Ruag]

Bangladeshi papers tricked by moon landing spoof

Two Bangladeshi newspapers have apologised after running a spoof story from satirical website the Onion this week claiming the Apollo 11 moon landing was a fake.

The Manab Zamin, which translated the story into Bengali and attributed it to the Onion News Network in Lebanon, Ohio, told its readers on Wednesday that astronaut Neil Armstrong was convinced his historic first step on the moon was part of an "elaborate hoax orchestrated by the United States government."

Neither the Bangladeshi tabloid, nor New Nation, which also ran the story in print and online, realised the Onion was a fake news site.

The story claimed Armstrong had been persuaded by a conspiracy theorist and some YouTube videos that the 1969 landing was "filmed on a sound stage, most likely in New Mexico".

In the fake quote, Armstrong went on to say: "It only took a few hastily written paragraphs published by this passionate denier of mankind's so-called 'greatest technological achievement' for me to realise I had been living a lie.

"I suppose it really was one small step for man, one giant lie for mankind."

Manab Zamin claimed it had since received numerous hits on its website. In an apology to its readers printed on Thursday, it said: "The report has drawn a lot of attention. We've since learned that the fun site runs false and juicy reports based on a historic incident.

"The truth is that Neil Armstrong never gave such an interview. It was made up. We are sorry for publishing the report without checking the information."

The New Nation said: "We thought it was true so we printed it without checking. We didn't know the Onion was not a real news site."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/05/bangladesh-papers-moon-landing-spoof