Unsuccessful Terrorist Attack on Everything2.com HQ

January 26, 2003 Posted: 2:25 PM PST

News just in! A radical fundamentalist Christian group have attempted to bomb the headquarters of leading satanic cult, Everything2.com. Representatives from anti-abortion group, Mary's Cherry Pickers, claim the attack was covertly authorised by God in an as-yet undisclosed chapter of Revelations. Leading members of the group are said to have been shocked at the perceived likeness between the Everything2.com building and an unborn foetus.

Our reporters have been unable to communicate fully with anyone from Everything2.com, but random mumblings about "nodeshells" were noted. This is the first time this weapon has been mentioned publically, although CNN war expert, Fuller Schitt, explains that they have been in development for several years. Nodeshells are popular with the Bush administration because they result in significantly more friendly fire than any previous smart bomb developed in the United States.

bradnowell, a long-time reader (and more recently noder) on the Everything2.com network, when questioned by CNN reporter Mike Hunt, stated, "I am glad that Mary's Cherry Pickers have brought to my attention the remarkable likeness between e2 HQ and an unborn foetus. Clearly this is unacceptable and I shall be demanding the removal of my account from such a blasphemous site."

It is believed that the attack failed due to the bomber forgetting to change his watch from daylight savings time. He tragically died when the car bomb exploded in his own garage. More details as they arrive.


See the original at http://www.cnn.com@66.111.43.11/reports/2003/WORLD/0194/259772.html. Thankfully that story is nothing more than a product of my imagination (at the moment anyway).

Currently located at http://66.111.43.11, The FAKE CNN.COM News Generator is a popular tool of hoaxers, and can be surprisingly successful if the culprit is skilful and the victim gullible. Of course the owners have added a disclaimer:

"This is intended for private use only. This site is not associated with CNN.com nor is it affiliated with CNN. This is merely setup to play jokes on our friends and not to be taken seriously. The links generated by the users of this script are in no way associated with Go-Dedicated or its associates. Users are responsible for their own actions and where they post the generated links. If you plan on using this for slanderous or libelous purposes, you are expressly forbidden from using this resource."

How Does It Work?

The user chooses a title, date, and time for the article. The article is then added through a form and previewed. If the user is happy with the article, they can submit it and it will remain stored on the site permanently.

Superficially, the articles look authentic, although broken links and writer errors will quickly reveal the hoax to a surfer with a modicum of curiosity and intelligence.

The site cleverly utilises a browser trick to make the URL appear genuine to inexperienced web users. http://www.cnn.com@66.111.43.11 forwards the user to the IP address following the "@" and ignores the initial address (try http://www.everything2.com@66.111.43.11 for example).


Update: unfortunately it appears that the Fake News Generator had to be taken down due to legal issues. I leave the writeup here for posterity.