A screenshot from the original La Presse article. (Credit: La Presse, screenshot)

Montreal newspaper La Presse was hoaxed by a fake Twitter account for actor Bill Murray.

In a June 23 post, La Presse quoted from the alleged account in its “quote of the week section.”  But the real Murray doesn’t have a Twitter account.

The tweet La Presse cited was posted on June 17 on a Twitter account named BiIIMurray.  It read:

“You think you’re having a bad day? Remember this: In 1976 Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stock in Apple for $800. Now its worth $60 Billion.”

But, the account is clearly labeled phony.  The bio section reads:

“I AM NOT BILL MURRAY. This is a parody account. Not in any way affiliated with the actor Bill Murray”

iMediaEthics wrote to La Presse seeking a transparent correction but never received a response. As of June 30, the quote has been deleted from the article in question but no disclosure of error was made.

Hat Tip: Steve Faguy