Fake News: Elderly Woman Accused of Training 65 Cats To Steal From Neighbors
Introduction
World News Daily Report published an article titled “Elderly Woman Accused of Training 65 Cats to Steal From Neighbors” on November 3rd, 2017. According to this article, A woman who lived in Columbus, Ohio, named Ruth Gregson, of 83 years old, trained her cats to steal jewelry and other small valuables from people in her apartment complex. It was said that investigators found $650,000 worth of stolen items. The article also explained that under investigation Ms.Gregson admitted to training her cats because “they had to earn their meals”. Even though World News Daily Report’s disclaimer explains that they post satirical news stories, this article spread across the internet as possible truth.
Research
After a simple google search of this title, multiple different sources came up in the results with the same article. Some were fact checking websites and others were claiming that this article was true. According to one fact checking website, Snopes, who posted shortly after the original story went out on World News Daily Report, this story was false (linked). However, the fake news story spread as truth like wildfire.
Ten days after the original story was published and Snopes fact checked it as false, a website called now100fm.com re-posted the same article and claimed it was “unreal, but oh so real”. Shortly after on the same day BuzzFeedNews.com also fact checked the article (here) and verified that it was false. However, months later this particular news story was still circling the internet and on social media websites implying that the story was true. At first glance, many people believed this story and quickly shared it.
Snopes refuted this false news story by giving information on the women who was actually in the mugshot. The women in the picture is Helen Staudinger of 92 years old. Staudinger was previously arrested for shooting her neighbor a year and a half before this article was released. Staudinger also lived in Florida where her investigation for shooting her neighbor took place, not Columbus, Ohio.
The claim of training a few dozen cats to steal from other peoples houses can be discredited by simple research. An article titled “How To Train A Cat” by Dr. Joanne Righetti published by purina.com says “Cats like to do things in their own good time” (Righetti, 2). Therefore, it can be implied that it is not easy getting a cat to do whatever you want whenever you want. The article also said “Remember, cats are individuals and each one will react differently when training begins” (Righetti, 2). This proves that it is possible to train a cat, however it is extremely difficult and maybe even impossible to train dozens of them in a coordinated behavior such as the one in the fake news story.
Although the internet can be a quick, easy, and convenient way to gather information and news, it is necessary that viewers are aware of the misinformation that circulates through it. By being a critical reader and taking a little time and effort to evaluate certain news articles that seem ambitious a person can save themselves from believing a false story. This can be done by checking the source of information as well as resorting to a fact checking website.
Works Cited
“Elderly Woman Accused of Training Her 65 Cats to Steal From Neighbors [PIC].” Now100.5fm, 13 Nov. 2017, https://now100fm.com/elderly-woman-accused-of-training-her-65-cats-to-steal-from-neighbors-pic/ Accessed 14 March 2019
“Elderly Woman Accused of Training Her 65 Cats to Steal From Neighbors.” World Daily News Report, 3 Nov. 2017, https://worldnewsdailyreport.com/elderly-woman-accused-of-training-her-65-cats-to-steal-from-neighbors/. Accessed 13 March 2019.
“Elderly Woman Accused of Training Her 65 Cats to Steal From Neighbors” YouTube, uploaded by NewsHub, 16 Oct. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6a_J9JWWcA. Accessed 19 March 2019.
Lytvynenko, Jane. “The Story About An Old Lady Training 65 Cats To Steal From Her Neighbors Is Total Bullshit”. BuzzFeed.News, 13 Nov. 2017 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/fake-mews Accessed 14 March 2019.
Palma, Bethania. “Did an Elderly Women Train 65 Cats to Steal From Her Neighbors?”. Snopes, 3 Nov. 2017, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-elderly-woman-train-cats-to-steal/ Accessed 13 March 2019.
Righetti, Joanne. “How To Train A Cat: Tips and Tricks.” Purina, https://www.purina.com.au/cats/exercising/how-to-train Accessed 15 March 2019.
