Man Accused of Spreading HIV to 240 People Was an Internet Hoax! [Details]

Rucuss staffMarch 6, 2013

News of a HIV infected man purposely spreading the virus to 240 people was a malicious Internet hoax.

The story gained worldwide attention after it was posted online. But according to Examiner.com, the entire story was a lie. Now a man’s face and name has been dragged in the mud for a few laughs.

The Examiner reports:

Friday, a news report from an NBC affiliate in New York circulated the web via blogs claiming that police were searching for a man named Isaac Don Burks for intentionally spreading HIV in the NY Tri-State area. Over the weekend the story spread like wildfire via blogs, Facebook, Twitter, even Michael Baisden and Steve Harvey shared the “story”. On Monday, the original source was called into question when the link being shared redirected to an Augusta news site.

The original source came from a fake site made to look like the NBC New York 4 website. The slight difference was in the domain. The real NBC affiliate’s domain is www.nbcnewyork.com the fake site used www.nbcnewyork4.com.

The original URL link now goes to a real 2010 news article about Burks who was wanted for check fraud and other charges in Georgia. Once the story went viral, Burks denied the allegations in a statement on his Facebook page.

Burks must have really pissed someone off. But regardless, this should not have happened. An investigation and charges need be filed against the person/people responsible for slandering his name.

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