Chris Atkins has revealed how he duped the BBC into running an entirely fictitious story about Downing Street's new cat to coincide with the site's launch.The director created a Facebook page in the name of a fictitious character, "Tim Sutcliffe", who claimed the cat - which came from Battersea Cats Home - had belonged to his aunt Margaret. The story appeared in the Daily Mail and Metro, before receiving a prominent slot on BBC Radio 5 Live.
BBC Radio 5 Live's Gaby Logan talks about a fictitious cat story Link to this audioAtkins, who was not involved in creating churnalism.com, uses spoof stories to highlight the failure of journalists to corroborate stories.
from Churnalism or News: How PRs have taken over the media