tyrannical bastard 4036 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 This story is making the rounds on social media...and is COMPLETELY FAKE! http://now8news.com/over-600-aborted-fetuses-found-in-storage-freezer-of-alabama-mcdonalds-restaurant-closed/ And WKRG is debunking the story on their website blow by blow... This takes spoofing to a whole new level. Not only is the story completely bogus, the website rips off WFLA's logo and branding, AND is VERY similar to the former WorldNow look their website (and other Media General stations) used until recently. WFLA has every right to tell these scammers to cease and desist dragging their name through the mud, and should hold them liable with damages for using their name on a completely fake story. Worst part is that almost 60,000 people fell for it, sharing on their facebook pages. :bang: :bang: :bang: EDIT: The logo has now changed to a generic looking one not tied to any station...
GoldenShine9 1514 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 Media General should also sue them for trademark infringement...
stevieboy247 42 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 I think the people who run the fake website will more than likely end up in court, regardless of the outcome. This reminds me of a similar incident that happened many years ago, in which the website of a fake TV station scammed people that were purchasing job training DVD's.
tyrannical bastard 4036 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 Media General should also sue them for trademark infringement... That's the most likely result since these scammers willfully used a logo of theirs to spread lies. Notice how WKRG did not mention the connection between WFLA and themselves. In this case it could have perpetuated things more and the best thing to do was to quash as many falsehoods as possible.
MidwestTV 1247 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 The website has changed. It's no longer using WFLA's logo, they're using some cheap-looking homemade logo that doesn't resemble WFLA at all. It seems that whoever created this false story heard how they got caught stealing the logo.
T.L. Hughes 903 Posted July 20, 2015 Posted July 20, 2015 The funny thing is the phone number listed on the website's about page apparently directs to an escort service in Las Vegas, according to the WKRG report. It seems like this Now 8 News website was trying to be like The Onion... only that site parodies the news, whereas Now 8 News faked it and with a "story" that was too disturbing to be true and went too far. Given that the proprietor of the website didn't even bother to alter the WFLA logo in any way (they even kept the NBC peacock and the HD bar tag, for God's sake!), they probably would have been caught in a copyright infringement suit sooner, assuming the site went online long before this "story" went viral.
tyrannical bastard 4036 Posted July 20, 2015 Author Posted July 20, 2015 I wonder if this was originally a look-a-like for KLAS, judging by the Now8News web address (since KLAS is 8NewsNow).
ABC 7 Denver 1729 Posted July 21, 2015 Posted July 21, 2015 The website has changed. It's no longer using WFLA's logo, they're using some cheap-looking homemade logo that doesn't resemble WFLA at all. It seems that whoever created this false story heard how they got caught stealing the logo. It's still on the site (http://now8news.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cropped-NewsChannel-8-1024x333.png)
tyrannical bastard 4036 Posted July 22, 2015 Author Posted July 22, 2015 ...and the logo has changed yet AGAIN.....to a Helevetica Bold 8 in a blue circle. Kinda looks like the vintage WFAA logo from the early 70s. (I know it's beating a dead horse now, but as long as they're posting crap as "news".....)
MidwestTV 1247 Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 The whole website is starting to resemble Scripps'
ABC 7 Denver 1729 Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 The whole website is starting to resemble Scripps' Because the registrant is in Phoenix, it's understandable that they'd mock KNXV.
tyrannical bastard 4036 Posted July 31, 2015 Author Posted July 31, 2015 The logo has changed YET AGAIN... Looks a lot like the modern version of WFAA...
Eat News 4745 Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 Great tactic to avoid legal filings. Get a cease and desist letter...change the logo a bit....repeat. How the heck can you prove damages when the legal standing is questionable? What station would even bother to file?
MidwestTV 1247 Posted August 9, 2015 Posted August 9, 2015 Great tactic to avoid legal filings. Get a cease and desist letter...change the logo a bit....repeat. How the heck can you prove damages when the legal standing is questionable? What station would even bother to file? In this case, WFAA probably could since the logo highly resembles theirs. Some of the lower thirds look like CNN's old look from waayyyy back when pre/just after-HD.
ABC 7 Denver 1729 Posted October 23, 2015 Posted October 23, 2015 And it looks like they're at it again with another 'news' story that's making the rounds. http://now8news.com/jimmy-dean-sausage-in-walmart-bathroom/
Hexagonal10 84 Posted October 23, 2015 Posted October 23, 2015 And it looks like they're at it again with another 'news' story that's making the rounds. http://now8news.com/jimmy-dean-sausage-in-walmart-bathroom/ Wouldn't be surprising to find out that the publisher of this story themselves were the ones bringing the sausage in the bathroom
mardek1995 200 Posted October 24, 2015 Posted October 24, 2015 The logo has changed YET AGAIN... Looks a lot like the modern version of WFAA... And to think that was the closest thing to what I was referring to when I mentioned in another post how I think WFAA should rebrand (minus the "now" part and with the letters in the "news" part be lowercase). And what next, they change their logo to one that resembles KFMB's logo?
Rusty Muck 4405 Posted October 26, 2015 Posted October 26, 2015 And what next, they change their logo to one that resembles KFMB's logo? Or WSVI's "8" logo. Speaking of which, whatever happened to the dynamic duo of Jerome Agean and Wes Small?
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