On 6 January 2017, the satirical web site ClickHole, an offshoot of The Onion created to mock clickbait and viral content, posted a story reporting that the author and creator of the widely popular Harry Potter series had revealed that Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who portrayed the boy wizard in film versions of her books, is not English but Chinese:
Ever since releasing the final book in her beloved series, J.K. Rowling has been known to reveal some shocking secrets from inside the Potter universe. Whether it’s a character’s hidden past, a plot point we may have missed, or a look inside what our favorite witches and wizards are doing today, Rowling has proven time and time again that there’s still plenty we don’t know about the magical world of Hogwarts. But the author’s latest bombshell really takes the cake: J.K. Rowling just announced that Daniel Radcliffe is Chinese.
Whoa. Mind = blown!
As proof, the web site included a series of fake tweets by Rowling, allegedly made on 6 January 2017:
The tweets don't appear on the author's authentic Twitter timeline, and according to available biographical information, Radcliffe was born in London, and neither of his parents is of Chinese descent.
ClickHole, like its sister site The Onion, is an openly satirical web site. Here's how ClickHole describes their content on the site's "About us" page:
Let’s be honest: Today, the average website carelessly churns out hundreds of pieces of pandering, misleading content, most of which tragically fall short of going viral.
At ClickHole, we refuse to stand for this. We strive to make sure that all of our content panders to and misleads our readers just enough to make it go viral. You see, we don’t think anything on the internet should ever have to settle for mere tens of thousands of pageviews. We believe that each and every article — whether about pop culture, politics, internet trends, or social justice — should be clicked on and shared by hundreds of millions of internet users before they can even comprehend what they just read.
ClickHole has one and only one core belief: All web content deserves to go viral.
Some of the headlines on ClickHole's front page as of 6 January 2017 included "Passing The Torch: Watch This Father Give His Daughter His Panini Before Walking Into the Forest Forever" and "One Day I Will Understand Basketball (by Jack Nicholson)."