Fake UFC event listing stirs the pot at local Golden Corral

Editor's note: This story has been updated to better explain dueling fake news posts.

A fake Facebook event known as �UFC 221: Showdown at the Golden Corral� has sparked controversy on the web between the Facebook parody fan page �City of Cape Girardeau� � now unpublished by Facebook � and the Golden Corral in Cape Girardeau.

The Golden Corral location has been in the news because of a surveillance video of a January altercation between a manager and an employee posted to Facebook. The video went viral, leading to the firing of the manager.

Seeing an opportunity to crack a joke when he sees one, Andy Pritchett, �City of Cape Girardeau� parody Facebook fan page creator and administrator, crafted a phony fighting event to mock the incident.

Pritchett said the page was �pretty much just a big joke� and it�s �not meant to cause anyone any real harm.�

An employee at Golden Corral said by phone the fake news caused real problems � people believing the event was real and calling the restaurant to inquire about it.

Apparently, Facebook wasn�t keen on the idea either. The social media platform has since unpublished the parody page.

�It�s designed to get a reaction out of people, but it�s not to really incite violence or any sort of riot at the Golden Corral,� Pritchett said. �To make fun of places, whether it be in jest or legitimately, then I feel I probably did in some way violate their terms, but with it being the internet and so many things that stay up, I feel it�s a little �hokey,� of all things, to have been taken down, compared to what�s out there,� Pritchett said.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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