Last night, 4chan contributed to the rumour mill by attempting to convince the internet that Doritos factory workers had caught Ebola.
Of course, Ebola has not been found in any Doritos factory.
But that didn't stop some 4chan users mocking up news stories and fake tweets from news organisations such as CNN and Fox claiming factory workers had tested positive for the deadly disease.
The rumour originated on 4chan’s /b/ thread, where users shared their poorly mocked up tweets and stories.
The mock-ups claimed “thousands of bags” of the popular snack had been infected.
Now i dont have anything to eat with my mountain dew #EbolaInDoritos #ebola #eboladoritos
The fake stories said "floor manager Chris Poole" of a Doritos factory in Columbus, Ohio, had tested positive.
Chris Poole is of course not a factory manager, but the founder of 4chan.
The 4chan users then began sharing the stories on Twitter with the hashtag #EbolaInDoritos.
Ebola has contaminated my favorite snack. #EbolaInDoritos
They later suggested using just #Ebola as it would “bring even more people".
One Twitter user, Hannah Leone, immediately called out 4Chan when the rumour began last night.
4chan is trying to spread some shit rumor about ebola. If you see the hashtag "#ebolaindoritos", it's horseshit.
Leone was then immediately trolled by 4chan users.
If you're curious who to thank for this shit rumor, try these folks. A friendly 'fuck you' to #ebolaindoritos
People in on the joke then continued to rally together trying to convince people that the rumour was true.
Also, a fine round of applause for rumormongering goes to these 4channers. #ebolaindoritos
Hours later, they were still trying.
#EbolaInDoritos is serious. Oh god. I thought it was a joke!!
How could these #EbolaInDoritos workers be so fucking stupid to not take a sick day.
Even now, six hours later, they are still attempting to make people fall for their hoax.
Guys, I just ate a bag of Doritos, is this #Ebola ??! #EbolaInDoritos ?!?!
Doritos infected with Ebola? #EbolaInDoritos
Wow 3 people in a Doritos factory tested positive for Ebola, and hundreds of thousands of bags could be infected. #EbolaInDoritos
Thankfully, very few that actually believed it.
Instead, hundreds of thousands of people saw a screengrab of the hoax in action on Imgur instead.
So don't worry! Go forth and eat all the Doritos you want! Bathe in Doritos!
