On 30 May 2017, the Miami Herald web site published an article positing that three Florida men were arrested for eating human flesh, a practice the suspects claimed cures depression and diabetes:
Police in Vernal Heights, Florida, arrested 3-practicing cannibals who claim eating human flesh cures both type-1 and type-2 diabetes and depression.
According to Vernal Heights Chief of Police, Gregory Moore, the 3-men were arrested when officers responded to what they assumed would be a routine noise complaint.
Police arrived at 3845 Toolson Lane (the home of William Provost) at approximately 7:45 PM on Sunday evening in response to a neighbor complaining of strange sounds coming from the home.
According to the officers, a bizarre crime scene was quickly uncovered upon entering the basement. Three men, which have since been identified as 62-year-old William Provost, 51-year-old Dennis Ratcliff, and 36-year-old Michael Dore were sitting in a circle on the basement’s concrete floor and ritualistically chanting while eating what police initially believed was an animal carcass, but was later identified as human remains.
There was no truth to this story, whose sole source was the Miami Gazette web site, which is not the online operation of a legitimate newspaper but rather a fake news site. The Gazette's disclaimer notes that the site's original material is "satirical" in nature and fake news:
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