An Indian restaurant in the UK could be forced to shut down after a fake news report claiming it serves human meat went viral on Facebook, according to a media report.
Shinra Begum, the owner of KarriTwist in south east London, said people have threatened to vandalise the building and police officers have been called in.
However, the article originated from a prank news site where anonymous users can submit their own fake news before sharing the stories on social media, metro.co.uk reported yesterday.
"One person said he would have broken the windows if our shutters weren't up. One member of the public did report it to the police. It has greatly affected our business. We have had people call us up telling us how dare you serve us human meat. If it wasn't happening to me I would laugh about it," Shinra said.
"This has done the rounds everywhere and people are believing this. We have had it for 60 years and it could shut down after somebody wrote something like this," she said.
"Even though the article, consisting of just a single paragraph, was littered with spelling and grammatical errors, people believed it was true," Shinra added.
It was shared on Facebook with the headline: ASIAN RESTAURANT SHUT DOWN FOR USING HUMAN MEAT.
The story read: "Last night Indian restaurant owner Rarjan Patel was arrested for using human meat in his food recipes at his New Cross Restaurant, it is said that a total of nine human body's were found frozen ready to be processed for meat, Rarjan Patel remains in custody for further questioning whilst the restaurant has been closed down."
The prank news site contains a number of fake stories, including false reports claiming people have died and that certain individuals are paedophiles.
Shinra said she has seen a drop in customers since the story showing up. As a result of the restaurant being less busy, some staff have had their hours cut.
Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in northwest of London, in July 2024. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Crossbow murderer found guilty of raping ex-girlfriend
A 26-YEAR-OLD man who murdered three women in a crossbow and stabbing attack has been found guilty of raping one of them, his ex-girlfriend, a British court ruled on Thursday.
Kyle Clifford had previously pleaded guilty to the murders of BBC sports commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters at their home in Bushey, northwest of London, in July 2024.
The attack led to a manhunt before Clifford was found injured hours later in a north London cemetery.
A jury at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday convicted Clifford of raping 25-year-old Louise Hunt before killing her.
His sentencing for all the crimes is scheduled for Tuesday.
Clifford had admitted to murdering Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Louise and Hannah, 28. He had also pleaded guilty to charges of false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons but denied raping Louise.
During the trial, the court heard that after killing Carol Hunt, Clifford waited for an hour before attacking Louise, tying her up, raping her, and then killing her with a crossbow. He later killed Hannah when she returned home from work.
The prosecution described Clifford, a former soldier, as committing a "violent, sexual act of spite" and said he was "enraged" after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. They told the court that he had "carefully planned" the attack.
Less than 24 hours before the killings, Clifford had searched for a podcast by social media influencer Andrew Tate, according to the prosecution. They argued that the murders were driven by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Tate.
Justice Joel Bennathan called Clifford’s crimes "dreadful" and "almost unspeakable".
(With inputs from AFP)