A recently published article that went viral on social media about a gruesome punishment imposed on a woman by her Qatari husband is actually a joke.
The story, “Qatar: Jealous husband seals wife’s vagina with crazy glue,” was written by satire site World Daily News Report (WDNR).
The article stated that a 33-year-old Qatari man had appeared in court after gluing his wife’s genitals together. The punishment was for “liking” a photo of his 12-year-old cousin on Facebook.
It went on to say that the woman had been sentenced to 100 lashes by a judge “to prevent further misunderstandings.”
Meanwhile, it said her husband got off with a mere QR40 fine.
A viral story
Despite the outrageous nature of the tale, some actual news outlets, including India Today and the Saudi Gazette, carried the story.
He believed she had adulterous ideas and hence, he glued her genitals before a scheduled business trip abroad.https://t.co/v72kT07Bj4
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) May 30, 2017
This helped the report spread like wildfire on social media, as many readers believed that the story was real.
The article was also posted on Reddit, prompting lots of readers to fall back on stereotypes about Islam. Many expressed their dismay at what seemed like a horrific miscarriage of justice.
“That good old Islam fighting for women’s rights. Bring sharia to the US!” said one.
“Another instance of “and people say the west is bad,” said another.
However, a Qatar resident soon clarified that the story wasn’t true, prompting many relieved responses.
Satirical news site
WDNR does not openly advertise its satirical credentials. But a disclaimer on its site makes it clear that its stories aren’t to be trusted.
It states:
“WNDR assumes however all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people –  are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any persons, living, dead, or undead is purely a miracle.”
And according to debunking website Snopes.com, the WDNR site “straddles the line of fake news and the occasional seed of truth.”
This isn’t the first time WDNR has used Qatar in their satirical news articles.
Last summer, it reported that a man was on trial in Qatar for trying to smuggle 12kg of bacon in his anal cavity.
The news was written up by a number of local sites like Qatar Scoop and local content aggregator Qatar Day before it was exposed as a hoax.
Thoughts?
