Louisiana Police Sucker Media With Offer To 'Test' Meth For Zika
 

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, this comes along:

WEIRD NEWS
12/31/2018 01:43 PM EST

Louisiana Police Sucker Media With Offer To 'Test' Meth For Zika

The Harahan Police Department's faux Facebook post was an "attempt at humor."
Reporters, not drug users, apparently were the only ones gullible enough to fall for an unoriginal hoax by police in Louisiana.

The Harahan Police Department on Saturday made a pretty obvious tongue-in-cheek post to its Facebook page offering to test methamphetamine for signs of the Zika virus.

The post, which went viral over the weekend, reads:

The post has amassed more than 800 comments and 5,000 shares. The majority of commenters got the intended humor, with one person jokingly commenting, “I’ll bring my pound right over,” and another saying, “Even meth heads aren’t that stupid.”

Zika, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is spread primarily by mosquito bites, but can also be transmitted through sex and from a pregnant woman to her fetus.

Still, at least three Louisiana media outlets ― Lafayette’s KLFY-TV, New Orleans’s WVUE-TV, and The Advocate, which is based in Baton Rouge ― apparently took the post seriously.

“Louisiana police are asking people who might have crystal meth in their possession to ... have it ‘tested’ for the Zika Virus,” KLFY-TV reported, with no mention of a possible hoax.

WVUE-TV provided readers with a list of possible symptoms of Zika infection and said, “Police have not said how much meth is contaminated.”

The Advocate reported on the possibility of contaminated meth and provided readers with information on “where it will be tested for free.”

To its credit, The Advocate later updated its story:

As of Monday morning, the stories by KLFY-TV and WVUE-TV remained unchanged.

According to Harahan police officer Keith Moody, who operates the department’s Facebook page, no one has taken the police station up on its phony offer to test meth for Zika contamination.

Moody told ABC News the post was an “attempt at humor” and an effort to raise awareness about dangerous drugs.

The methamphetamine and opioid epidemic are alarming and show “no sign of slowing soon,” he said.

Moody was apparently inspired by police in Gratis, Ohio, who postednearly the exact same warning in May. However, there was one very noticeable difference:l

“Disclaimer: methamphetamine can’t be a host for the Zika virus,” the Gratis Police Department wrote.

Apparently, cops in Louisiana thought that went without saying. They were wrong.