This May Be Illinois’ Most Bizarre News Story Of The Year

(I was going through some files that I've kept on some of the weirder things that have taken place in 2022 here in the state of Illinois when I stumbled upon this little gem from over the summer):

In the craziness of today's world and the round-the-clock news cycle, it's really difficult sometimes to figure out if something we're being told is fact or fiction. I'm not necessarily referring to politics, either. There's a lot of BS floating around about all sorts of things, and sometimes people fall for it.

Even stories about a cannibalistic spaghetti cook in Illinois.

Illinois' Williamson County Sheriff's Office Has Been Forced To Post A Rather Unusual Warning On Their Facebook Page Because A Bizarre, Satirical Post Went Viral And Freaked People Out

It's not like this is the first time that law enforcement has had to get in front of a fictional event that had the citizenry coming unglued.

When Orson Welles staged and aired "The War of the Worlds" on the radio in 1938, there were frightened Americans from coast to coast, but especially in New Jersey, where the fictional invasion was supposedly taking place. Police and governmental switchboards were overwhelmed by panicked callers, and authorities had to issue statements that there was nothing to worry about, it was just a radio show.

Williamson County Sheriff Bennie Vick, Seeing How The Cannibal Spaghetti Cook Story Was Gaining Traction, Felt The Need To Set The Record Straight With A "Fake News Alert"

To break it down, a satirical website that identifies itself as a service that readers “can count on to let you down,” posted a story about an Illinois morgue assistant named Linda Anders who used testicles from corpses to help win an annual spaghetti cook-off.

Unless You Were At This Fictional Spaghetti Cook-Off As A Judge Who Had To Eat The Spaghetti, Why Would This Freak You Out?

I'll answer my own question, here. I have no idea whatsoever, but enough folks were bothered by the idea of an Illinois morgue assistant with a secret spaghetti sauce ingredient that the Williamson County's Sheriff's Office had to straighten things out.

Included with their Facebook message that pointed out that the whole story is completely fake and the product of a satirical website, the Williamson County Sheriff's Office include some tips to avoid being taken in by phony stories:

Check The Source. (the Contact page or about page)
• Take a look at the website URL. Did it come from a
respectable source?
• Are other news sites reporting on the story?
• Be wary of sloppy writing.
• Quotes – or lack thereof.

For example, the about section of KTVA4.com states clearly that it is fabricated satirical news and comedy website.