Three British guys have gone out of their way to prove how quickly false news can travel in the media.
In a recent prank, Lewis Ellis, Alex McCormick and James Wallman posted pictures online with captions claiming they found themselves in Syria after getting on the wrong boat after a late night out in Cyprus.
The guys took the prank a bit too seriously and confirmed the news to media outlets. They concocted a story about how they thought they were heading on a dolphin watching excursion and ended up being transferred by boat from Ayia Napa to Tartus, the Syrian port city.
"No it was a genuine thing. We ended up in Syria," Ellis told the Daily Star UK .
Several media outlets covered the story, including Time Magazine, Daily Mail, Al Arabiya and the Daily Star UK . The Daily Star UK did point out that questions have been raised about the validity of the men's story.
Ellis has been posting several articles that have been written about the prank on his Facebook page, and in a comment, he confirmed that it was all made up, just for fun. Or fame.
Ellis runs a YouTube channel with all his pranks and it's not the first time he's gotten media attention.
