Fake news is like a horrible weed: just when you think you’ve eradicated it, another pops up somewhere else.

The website YourNewsWire published a totally made-up story about actor Keanu Reeves, who allegedly said in Milan that Hollywood elites use “the blood of babies to get high”.

The story went viral on Facebook with 26,000+ engagements. It was posted on the verified Your News Wire and related The People’s Voice pages, as noticed by Media Matters researcher Alex Kaplan:


 

The story is also currently at the top of search on YouTube if you type in “Keanu Reeves”:

Credit: screengrab/youtube

YourNewsWire is a notorious fake news website, which earlier this month published a viral hoax about Texas church shooter Devin Patrick Kelley being an Antifa member.

Fact-checking website Politifact debunked the story saying none of the details included in the YourNewsWire article “have been confirmed by law enforcement agencies, or reported by reputable media outlets.”

The same happened with the Keanu Reeves story, which was debunked by the website GossipCop, another site dedicated to separating fact from fiction in entertainment news.

While it’s true that Reeves was recently at a motorcycle event in Milan, “he never gave this alleged interview to anyone” and “his supposed remarks can’t be found anywhere on the Internet, except for on YourNewsWire,” GossipCop reports.

After the fact-checkers did their job, YourNewsWire changed the URL and content of the story into an absurd claim about actor Elijah Wood that Hollywood is gripped by a paedophile ring.

But a cached version of the story is still available:

Credit: screengrab/yournewswire.com

The Facebook posts have also been deleted, but that hasn’t stopped other, dodgy websites from publishing the same story as a Google search shows:

Credit: screengrab/google

And people are still sharing it on Facebook:

Credit: SCREENGRAB/FACEBOOK