He wanted to see “stupid fake news” in the media, rather than “more hateful or polarizing fake news,” and also get a publicity stunt for his new show. In recent weeks, English comedian Joe Lycett has managed to spread four fake news stories in the English media.

“I wanted to use the space that they [les médias] allegedly used to spread hate, distress and photographs of Amanda Holden [une présentatrice anglaise] he joked during the premiere of the new season of Lycett late at nighton Channel 4, Friday.

A week earlier, the actor had turned British Internet users into detectives, asking them to identify this false information.

Ian “H” Watkins was involved in this

A veil of suspicion has thus been cast over all the unusual news of the past few weeks. The result? The report about North Korean television blurring the jeans of a BBC presenter is genuine. On the other hand, the famous street artist Banksy did not paint a fresco of Dorothy, a character from Wizard of Oz, in Birmingham. Men in this city do not have the longest penises in the country either. “Adam”, a supposed five-a-side football player, also did not discover a bruise in the shape of Prince Harry on his thigh. Finally, a city in Wales is not going to erect a statue in honour of Ian “H” Watkins, member of the 90s pop group Steps, a cult group on the other side of the English Channel, but who never managed to rock the charts in France, explanation perhaps residing here.

How did the presenter manage to bring these stories to HE Daily Mailin the Web page from Sky News channel Or on a BBC radio show? Joe Lycett did not respond to our request for an interview due to lack of availability. However, he did have the complicity of Ian “H” Watkins, who passed on “the information” about the statue on his Instagram account.

The media was quick to express doubts.

If Joe Lycett, known across the Channel for his tricks, was delighted to have succeeded in his attempt, on closer inspection his success is rather nuanced. Several media outlets quickly cast doubt on the veracity of these stories. “We're not so sure this man is blue.” [qui ressemble] Prince Harry is not a ruse,” wrote The newspaper Meter when the story appeared.

Regarding the mysterious Dorothy fresco that appeared overnight in Birmingham, the city where Joe Lycett is from, several media outlets was in charge of contacting representatives of Banksy, who denied that the artist, whose true identity has never been confirmed, painted this work. Regarding the famous statue, BBC News Has publishedTwo days after this story appeared, an article appeared questioning its veracity.

The hoax was recently received by the British press. New statesman underlines that the joke does not attack “the causes” of the problem. “The editorial offices lack resources,” writes the weekly.

“The people who published Lycett’s articles are not flashy news anchors with inflated egos, nor newspaper editors happy to churn out hard-hitting articles for profit; they are probably exhausted, inexperienced journalists who published ten more stories that day for less than a living wage. » A race for ratings and a lack of resources make forgery a good business.