That Chuck E. Cheese Bitcoin Deal Is Fake News
A fake news article circulating via social media claims that a man was arrested after earning $1 million selling Chuck E. Cheese tokens as Bitcoins. According to satirical website Huzlers.com, 36-year-old Marlon Jensen scratched the restaurant's engraved logo off of each coin and simply marked them with a "B" in permanent marker. The punishment for the faux fraud was supposedly a five-year prison sentence.
Even though Bitcoin isn't a physical form of currency, apparently the story was at least semi-believable. A quick scroll through Twitter shows a plethora of praise directed toward the scam artist, depicted in the article using a stock image.
"If you bought a Chuck-E-Cheese coin and thought it was a Bitcoin, you kinda deserve what you get (laughing emoji)," filmmaker Jason Pollock wrote on Twitter.
If you bought a Chuck-E-Cheese coin and thought it was a Bitcoin, you kinda deserve what you get. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/9dgGbxgZP4
— Jason Pollock (@Jason_Pollock) December 18, 2017
"I want to buy this guy a beer," Charles Sizemore said.
I want to buy this guy a beer: Man Arrested After Making $1 Million Selling Chuck E Cheese Tokens As Bitcoins $BTC.X https://t.co/YorsGhZjrw
— Charles Sizemore (@CharlesSizemore) December 18, 2017
"Free this man right now," No Jumper podcast tweeted.
Free this man right now pic.twitter.com/t6gR20LbEm
— No Jumper (@nojumper) December 18, 2017
Huzlers owner Pablo Reyes told BuzzFeed the post was inspired by Bitcoin's recent jump in popularity, but it wasn't meant to be taken seriously. After all, the website's "About Us" page plainly says its content is "fauxtire and satire," meaning it's completely made up.
Jokes on you, internet. For a little more tomfoolery, here are the 15 funniest food pranks.