Fact Check

Christian Anti-Masturbation's Mascot “Fappy” Arrested for Public Masturbation?

Fappy the Anti-Masturbation Dolphin was not arrested for swimming naked at SeaWorld, because such a mascot does not exist.

Published Nov. 16, 2015

Claim:
An anti-masturbation mascot named Fappy the Dolphin was arrested for swimming naked with dolphins at a SeaWorld park.

On 13 November 2015, the web site NewsExaminer published an article reporting that the "Fappy the Anti-Masturbation Dolphin," a mascot for the "Stop Masturbation Now" Christian group, had been arrested for swimming naked with dolphins at the SeaWorld marine park in San Diego, California:

In an ironic twist of a fate, a mascot for a Christian anti-masturbation group was arrested today for masturbating in public. The mascot, along with his organization, Stop Masturbation Now, recently finished a federally funded 31-city nationwide school tour which they claim focused on educating children about the dangers and consequences of masturbation.

Fappy The Anti-Masturbation Dolphin, whose real name is 37-year-old Paul Horner, was arrested at Sea World after employees notified police about a man swimming in the dolphin tank with nothing on except a dolphin mascot head.

While the above-quoted article was published in November 2015, this was not the first appearance of Fappy the Anti-Masturbation Dolphin (a non-existent mascot representing a non-existent group). The fake mascot of the fictional organization Stop Masturbation Now is a mainstay of the fake news site NewsExaminer (and their shill site, CBSnews.com.co) and has not only appeared in a number of their fabricated articles, but even has his own Facebook page and was the subject of a fake press release fake touting an upcoming Michael Moore documentary in 2013.

Despite Fappy's frequent appearances on the Internet, the mascot is a fictional character created as part of an elaborate and ongoing hoax.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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