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BBC presenter duped by fake Joe Willock 'lost in York Maze' story

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BBC presenter duped by fake Joe Willock 'lost in York Maze' story
Photo: Reuters
A BBC Radio 1 presenter has admitted he was caught out by a viral fake news story claiming that Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock had to be rescued after getting lost in York Maze.

The prank originated from the parody X (formerly Twitter) account Francis Chipp, known for posting completely fabricated stories about Newcastle players - despite its clear bio disclaimer: "Everything I post is made up."

The Fake Story That Fooled the BBC

The post quickly went viral, fooling thousands online, and even found its way onto BBC Radio 1's Rickie, Melvin and Charlie Show, where presenter Melvin Odoom repeated the story during a light-hearted discussion about unusual places people had been lost.

'I Feel Like I've Lied to the Nation!'

After being told live on air that the story was fake, Odoom reacted with good humour.
So that never happened to Joe at all? To be fair, it wasn't a factual site. I feel like I've lied to the nation!
The prank came courtesy of Francis Chipp (also known as Big Frank), a well-known parody account famous for creating convincing fake football stories.

The account has previously "reported" false tales involving Harvey Barnes, Matt Targett, and Sean Longstaff, which have all gone viral among Newcastle fans.

A Growing Trend of Football Hoaxes

Whilst the Joe Willock maze story was harmless fun, it highlights the growing influence of parody football accounts on social media, and how easily even mainstream broadcasters can be caught out.

For Willock, who is recovering from injury and yet to feature this season, the incident at least brought some light-hearted attention during a quiet spell off the pitch.

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