Fact Check

A Free Mane

Published July 16, 2015

Claim:

FACT CHECK:   Did rapper Gucci Mane escape from prison with the help of Mexican drug lord El Chapo?

Claim:   Rapper Gucci Mane escaped from prison with the help of Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

   FALSE

Example:     [Collected via Twitter, July 2015]

Origins:    On 15 July 2015, the entertainment web site Huzlers published an article reporting that rapper Gucci Mane (who is currently serving a three-year sentence for firearms-related charges) had escaped prison with the help of Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán:

Rapper Gucci Mane, real name Radric Davis, has reportedly escaped from Atlanta Fed Pen, with the help from none other than Mexican Cartel drug Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Authorities are confirming Gucci Mane escaped from prison sometime Wednesday morning around the time of 1:00 and 4:00 am. A secret underground tunnel entrance was found in Gucci's prison cell, similar to the one found in El Chapo's cell. Authorities also found items left behind by Gucci, including Styrofoam cups, empty bottles of Sprite soda, empty cough syrup bottles, and Jolly Rancher wrappers, leading authorities to believe that Gucci Mane and El Chapo were drinking "lean" together prior to escape.

There is no truth to the above-referenced article. Huzlers is one of many "entertainment" web sites currently operating on the Internet that specializes in fake news:

Huzlers.com is the most notorious urban satirical entertainment website in the world with the most shocking headlines and articles shared by trillions around the world.

This is the second time that Huzlers has penned a fictitious article about Gucci Mane's escaping from prison. (The web site's previous article claimed that a city-wide manhunt was underway for the rapper.)

While it is true that drug lord "El Chapo" recently escaped from prison in Mexico, Gucci Mane still does not have a scheduled release date.

Last updated:      16 July 2015

Originally published:    16 July 2015

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.