Hoax – ‘Pope Comes Out as Gay’

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The message is a hoax. Pope Benedict XVI made no such announcement. The story originates from a satirical website that publishes purely fictional reports in a news-like format.

This message, which is currently gaining momentum on Facebook and other social media sites, claims that Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he is gay and decided to resign his papacy because he could no longer live a lie. The message circulates in the guise of a news item and includes a picture of the Pope along with a link to the full report on the issue on dailycurrant.com.

However, not surprisingly, Pope Benedict has made no such announcement. The story was first published on satirical website, The Daily Currant and is not a genuine news report. The Daily Currant’s “About” page explains the site’s purpose thusly:

The Daily Currant is an English language online satirical newspaper that covers global politics, business, technology, entertainment, science, health and media. Our mission is to ridicule the timid ignorance which obstructs our progress, and promote intelligence – which presses forward.

Our stories are purely fictional. However they are meant to address real-world issues through satire and often refer and link to real events happening in the world.

The stories published on The Daily Currant are not factual as most people who visit the site itself will quickly realize.

However, when such satirical pieces are lifted from their original context and began circulating via other media, they are apt to fool at least a few readers into believing their claims.