Fact Check

Man Sells 4 Year Old Son on Craigslist for Money to Pre-Order Apple Watch

Rumor: A father attempted to sell his toddler son on Craigslist to fund the purchase of a new Apple Watch.

Published April 17, 2015

Claim:

Claim:   A father attempted to sell his toddler son on Craigslist to fund the purchase of a new Apple Watch.


FALSE


Example:   [Collected via Twitter, April 2015]


"Lil N*gga for $500" Dad sells 4 YEAR OLD son on Craigslist so he can buy a damn Apple Watch

 

Origins:   On 12 April 2015, the Huzlers web site published an article reporting that a 22-year-old man named Jason Arenas had been investigated by the New York Police Department after he posted an advertisement on Craigslist offering to sell his son for $500 in order to fund the purchase of a new Apple Watch:



Authorities arrested Jason earlier today after people began notifying the police of a Craigslist listing where a man was selling his soul and son for $500.00 to pre-order the new Apple Watch. Authorities saw the listing and found that Jason was advertising his son as "hard working" and "doesn't eat a lot".

A group of NYPD officers decided to visit the home of Jason and found that his 4 year old was nowhere to be found. Police also found a printed receipt on his kitchen table for the purchase of the Apple Watch, which releases April 25th, 2015.

"I really wanted that Apple Watch fam, I seen that sh*t in videos and was like nah I need to get it, does my son tell me what time it is? No. Does my son tell me who sneak dissin' on Twittery? No, but that Apple Watch could. Everybody mad cause I sold my son but did he die? No, okay then so we all good."


The article's shoddy formatting and quality alone should have tipped readers off to the fact that Huzlers is a fake news site, not to mention the
site's disclaimer noting that "Huzlers.com is a combination of real shocking news and satire news to keep its visitors in a state of disbelief."
Previous Huzlers hoaxes have included reports of Justin Bieber's coming out as bisexual, claims that the 2014 Super Bowl was rigged, and a tale about Chipotle restaurant using cat and dog meat.

Last updated:   17 April 2015

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.