Olympic Ring Mishap Murder: Online Hoax Claims Man Killed For Opening Ceremony Blunder
An Olympic ring mishap murder story is making the rounds on Facebook, but like most outrageous stories it is a little too outlandish to be believed.
The story originated from a place called the Daily Currant, with a headline that read “Man Responsible For Olympic Ring Mishap Found Dead In Sochi.” The Daily Currant site (which went down briefly this week, possibly due to overwhelming traffic), went on to tell a story of Soviet mystery and intrigue related to the fifth ring, which failed to light during the Sochi Olympics opening ceremony.
The Olympic ring mishap murder story created an identity for the man responsible — Boris Avdeyev — and claimed that the man was found mysteriously killed.
The story read:
Avdeyev was a technical specialist responsible for the Olympic Ring spectacle, which embarrassingly malfunctioned last night … Although his body was badly mangled and the wounds were consistent with a struggle, so far officials say they don’t suspect foul play.
The Olympic ring mishap murder story had several holes, even to the uninformed reader. For one, the story would have certainly gained worldwide attention had it been true, or at least press somewhere outside of the Daily Currant.
Another hint comes from the name itself. While Boris Avdeyev may indeed be a real person, and he may even have a role at the Sochi Olympics, the name is about as typically Russian as they come. Boris is one of the most common first names, and Avdeyev an incredibly common last name. An American equivalent would have been naming the murdered man John Smith.
Others may remember the Daily Currant from another famous hoax-turned-Facebook-viral-story. Shortly after marijuana was legalized in Colorado, the news outlet ran a fake story claiming that 37 people died of marijuana overdoses.
Still, despite its holes the Olympic ring mishap murder story managed to circle the internet pretty quickly, prompting responses from a number of blogs and news services.
