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The fake revenge stunt that fooled nearly everyone

  • Published
    24 June 2015
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Screenshot of YouTube video of a man sawing possessions in half.Image source, YouTube/DerJuli
Image caption,

This video described as a message to a former wife has been viewed more than five million times on YouTube

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What's popular and why

What seemed to be an extreme act of revenge by a husband against a cheating spouse turned out to be a marketing campaign by a German legal information company.

It was a parting statement - literally. A newly-divorced German man, "Martin", recorded himself sawing all his possessions in half, and then put them up for sale on eBay.

The internet and international media - from Mashable, external and Fox News, external in the US to RT, external in Russia and Press TV, external in Iran - lapped up the story of the perfect revenge which emerged from Germany. A video, external of the man using power tools to cut his mobile phone, furniture, television set and car in half has racked up more than 5 million views on YouTube. Simply titled "For Laura", the opening words translate as: "Thank you for 12 'beautiful' years Laura !!!!! You've really earned half, greetings to my successor." The man also appeared to put up 16 items for sale on eBay, external, including half of a bicycle and a slice of an iPhone:

Half of an iPhone on sale on eBay in GermanyImage source, EBay
Half of a stuffed bear on sale on eBay in GermanyImage source, eBay
Half of a bicycle on sale on ebay in GermanyImage source, EBay

But as it turns out, that was not the half of it (er, pun intended). In fact the whole stunt was the creation of Deutsche Anwaltauskunft, an information portal for the German Bar Association. The lawyers' group confessed on their website, external, saying both the husband and his story were fakes. "The idea behind it was to humorously point to a problem that is not only relevant in Germany: Too few married couples take precautions for the case of a possible separation - for example with a marriage contract. The event of divorce then often ends in bitter fights under which not only cars and furniture suffer but especially the affected couples and their children." Apologizing to everyone who was "teased" in the name of highlighting divorce law, the association added: "Hopefully, at least, you felt well entertained."

The items on eBay do exist, though, and will be auctioned off, with proceeds donated to charity.

Blog by Samiha Nettikkara, external

Next story:This is what happened to the Saudi comic who sneered at Islamic State

Saudi comedian, Nasser Al-Qasabi, plays the role of a father searching for his son who joined IS in SyriaImage source, MBC

One of Saudi Arabia's most popular comedians received death threats from Islamic State supporters after his latest series sneered at IS - but the comic's supporters answered back with a hashtag mocking the militants.READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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