Fox News host Bill O'Reilly is being lambasted on Facebook and Twitter for something he didn't do — getting himself arrested for punching Santa Claus at Macy's department store in New York City.
Before checking where a faked news report came from — satirical website The Daily Currant — hundreds of people began posting and tweeting nasty, snarky things about O'Reilly's imaginary altercation with Santa.
According to The Daily Currant parody, O'Reilly was in Macy's on Christmas Eve when Santa wished him "Happy holidays" rather than the Fox host's preferred "Merry Christmas," so the 63-year-old O'Reilly smacked him.
"Witnesses say that after a brief argument, O'Reilly punched the Santa Claus in the face and wrestled him to the ground before a throng of onlookers," the website reported. "The two then traded blows for close to a minute before security guards broke the fight up."
Written like a real news story, many people thought The Daily Currant's account was legitimate.
"Bill O'Reilly carries on for hours a day, in public, about the 'War on Christmas,' then assaults Santa on Xmas eve. Can't explain THAT," tweeted one user.
"Religious Fundamentalist Terrorist Bill O'Reilly Arrested For Assaulting Department Store Santa," tweeted another.
The fictitious piece details a colorful exchange between Saint Nick and the Fox News TV host at the site of "Miracle on 34th Street."
O'Reilly screamed, "Did you seriously think you could get away with insulting me — ME! — with your anti-Christian, secular 'Happy Holidays' filth?"
"Hey buddy, I don't know what your problem is," the Santa replied, "But it's my job, I can say whatever I want."
"Oh really, pinhead?" O'Reilly retorted as he stepped into the Santa's face "You think you can just abandon the Judeo-Christian values that made this country great?
With a segment on the "War on Christmas," the popular Fox host has long lamented on his top-rated "The O'Reilly Factor" how Christmas used to be. O'Reilly maintains the holiday has become increasingly secularized and consumerist when it used to focus primarily on celebrating the birth of Christ.
This isn’t the first time The Daily Currant has fooled unthinking readers into believing a fake story about a conservative. In August, it published a story about Todd Akin saying breast milk is the cure for homosexuality. The Daily Currant had a field day as hundreds criticized the GOP, thinking it was real.
Like The Onion, The Daily Currant publishes satirical news daily and regularly reports fictitious stories on news, politics, entertainment, and technology.
Credit goes to website Twitchy for reporting the debunked story with the headline "Faux News."