Flood Destroys Noah’s Ark Theme Park-Fiction!
Summary of eRumor:
A flood that destroyed a Noah’s Ark themed park in Kentucky has been deemed as “an act of God.”
The Truth:
Rumors about a Noah’s Ark theme park being destroyed by a flood started with a fake news website.
The story appeared at The Good Lord Above, a fake news website that focuses exclusively on God-themed stories. This story, which appeared under the headline, “Noah’s Ark Theme Park Destroyed in Flood,” reports
The new ‘Noah’s Ark’ Theme Park in Williamstown, Kentucky was destroyed in a flood earlier today. The sudden flash flood only seemed to affect the location of the Ark Encounter Theme Park, which was in the final phases of construction.
“From a meteorological standpoint, this is quite confusing,” said Dan Schmidt, a forecaster with the National Weather Service. “There were no storm clouds in the area. We’re calling this flood an act of God.”
The story was viewed nearly 630,000 times within a week of being published, and many were duped into believing that it was true. That’s not the case, however.
The Good Lord Above identifies itself as satire in its “About” page:
Thou shalt remember that The First Amendment protects satire as a form of free speech and expression. TheGoodLordAbove uses invented names in all of its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental. TheGoodLordAbove is not intended for readers under 18 years of age.
That’s why we’re calling this one fiction.