FDA Approves Tranquilizing Darts for Children-Fiction!

FDA Approves Tranquilizing Darts for Children-Fiction!

Summary of eRumor:
The FDA has approved tranquilizing darts for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The Truth:
The FDA hasn’t approved tranquilizer darts for children with ADHD.
The rumor started with the fake news website World News Daily Report, and it quickly went viral on social media sites. The false report claimed that the FDA had approved “anesthetic dart guns” designed to calm children with ADHD:

“The new product is capable of putting a child to sleep in less than 4 seconds and reportedly has no serious long-term effects on the health of children. These new tools specifically created to assist parents with children suffering from ADHD, have a practical range of approximately 10 to 12 feet (3 to 4 meters) and their effect is meant to last for a period of 4 to 6 hours per injection. The manufacturer advises, however, not to use the gun more than 1 to 2 times daily on the same child in order to prevent the development of a physical addiction to the product.”

The story was shared more than 15,000 times on Twitter. Readers who believed that the FDA had actually approved the tranquilizer gun for children argued about whether or not it was a good idea. The report angered most people:

“Maybe patents need to learn how to deal with their children and not just drug the child. What does this teach a child. Be good or mommy will shoot you. Come on seriously?”

But other people defended the so-called child tranquilizer gun:

“I think you may be misinformed might I suggest you do the following.

1. Google ADHD symptoms.

2. Consider this as an alternative by a concerned parent that is trying to cope with having a child that has ADHD instead of a punishment.

3.(most importantly) Babysit a child with ADHD for one day and consider they deal with that every day and night as well as the average stresses of life.”

However, people on both sides of the debate apparently didn’t read World News Daily Report’s disclaimer, which states that the website “assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content”.