Would you like to see an example of satire? Here is an example of satire: "ExxonMobil, Chevron Locked In Bidding War To Acquire Lucrative Pennsylvania Senator." Would like to see an example of garbage, bad faith "satire"? Here is an example of garbage, bad faith "satire": "Coca-Cola Recalls 2 Million Bottles With The Name 'Michael,' The Reason Why Will Shock You."

The latter story comes from digital trash salesmen Empire News, whose Upworthy-style headline conceals a playground-caliber food hoax about a disgruntled employee spiking sodas with dirt. The shockingly implausible article was an instant hit, amassing over 200,000 since it was published Tuesday.

But among the usual crop of dupes was one that definitely should have known better—Albany's NBC affiliate WNYT. The station ran a story covering the "recall" on Wednesday, citing no source and naming the supposed adulterant as "top soil to be exact."

Of course, that story is completely untrue. When asked about the allegedly contaminated sodas, an FDA spokesperson directed Gawker to their comprehensive list of firm-issued food recalls. That site dates the last recall of Cokes to 2010.

By Friday, WNYT had scrubbed all mention of the story from their website.

[Image via Shutterstock]