Claim: The remains of an ancient city were discovered in the Australian desert.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, September 2014]
Is this true?
RUINS OF ANCIENT CITY DISCOVERED IN AUSTRALIAN DESERT
Origins: On 7 September 2014, the World News Daily Report web site published an article positing that the remains of a hitherto unknown ancient city had been discovered in the Australian desert:
Professor Walter Reese, in charge of the site, claims that the extent of the site and the superposition of various layers of constructions, suggests that it was occupied for 400 to
A team of archaeologists working for the Australian National University, who were proceeding to an excavation near the sandstone rock formation of Uluru, has unearthed the ruins of a large precolonial city dating back to more than
Soon afterwards links and excerpts referencing this item were being circulated via social media, with many of those who encountered it mistaking it for a genuine news article. However, that article was just another spoof from World News Daily Report, a fake news web site whose stock in trade is publishing fantastically fictional stories. The site's disclaimer page states that:
World News Daily Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within worldnewsdailyreport.com are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental, except for all references to politicians and/or celebrities, in which case they are based on real people, but still based almost entirely in fiction.
Last updated: 13 September 2014
