SALT LAKE CITY — The old adage that you can't believe everything you read on the internet, specifically social media, came true again last week.
A picture went viral on X that seemed to show the aftermath of a minor crash involving a Fiat and a painting on a bridge that depicted a hyper-realistic image of a tunnel going through the bridge.
As one online blog reported, "A bizarre case of real-life cartoon mischief has gone viral after someone painted a hyper-realistic tunnel on the side of a bridge complete with a shadowy passage and a painted Road Runner. The illusion was so convincing that a driver reportedly crashed into the wall, mistaking it for an actual road.
#graffiti#graffitiporn#artwork#artist#artists#car#cars#crash#fail#looneytunes#roadrunner#coyote#graffitiartist#graffitiartistspic.twitter.com/cUX6YsCd6u
— TrendngCurrentEvents (@trendingevents1) January 11, 2017
"Police are now on the lookout for the anonymous artist, whose prank has sparked both outrage and laughter online. Locals are calling it both 'dangerous' and 'genius,'" according to the report.
Fans of the old "Looney Tunes" cartoons and the exploits of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner voiced their approval of the prank, many finding it hilarious. Others were more concerned about the real-life consequences of someone potentially being injured and cars being damaged.
But anyone who did a little research into the incident quickly learned the prank did not actually happen and, in fact, the story was first reported and debunked in 2015.
As the fact-checking website Snopes points out, several news organizations reported the viral tunnel crash, "with most reports consisting solely of two to three sentences explaining that the accident was documented by a Reddit user with no independent verification of the claim."
Last week, the pictures and stories resurfaced on social media and went viral again.
But as some pointed out, it's the same picture and it's still not real, even though some online blogs reported that police were still looking for the anonymous culprit.
Reports of a 500-ton anvil from ACME falling on a coyote in Monument Valley, however, were still being investigated as of press time.
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