Texas cops said ebola infected meth, using wizard level trolling on Facebook to trick methamphetamine users into believing that their speed might be tainted, and to visit the small town police department for drug testing.
It worked.
Granite Shoals Police Department issued the fake news report in their town of 5,000 just an hour northwest of the Texas capitol of Austin.
While most people weren’t fooled, one clueless citizen managed to make their way into the police station with their stash, and the Texas cops say that booking photos are coming soon.
And they really did test the meth for purity.
Poor Chastity Hopson, who’d racked up an extensive police record in Granite Shoals from 2008 to 2013 but none since, took the bait, and got booked for possession charges.
She’s pictured in the cover image, and at right.
The fake “Breaking News Report” on Granite Shoals’ [__FB post__](https://www.facebook.com/graniteshoalspd/posts/1021174411290735:0) said this last Tuesday:
> Breaking News: Area Meth and Heroin Supply Possibly Contaminated With Ebola.
> Meth and Heroin recently brought in to Central Texas as well as the ingredients used to make it could be contaminated with the life threatening disease Ebola. If you have recently purchased meth or heroin in Central Texas, please take it to the local police or sheriff department so it can be screened with a special device. DO NOT use it until it has been properly checked for possible Ebola contamination! Contact any Granite Shoals PD officer for testing. Please share in hopes we get this information to anyone who has any contaminated meth or heroin that needs tested.
Of course, the internet being the internet, people are sharing the fake idea of ebola-meth all over the place.
But by Thursday morning, the [__Texas cops reported their arrest__](https://www.facebook.com/graniteshoalspd/posts/1023015771106599), where else, but on Facebook:
> This morning, we had our first concerned citizen notify the Granite Shoals Police Department that they believed their methamphetamine may be tainted. Our officers gladly took the item for further testing. Results and booking photos are pending.
> Please continue to report any possibly tainted methamphetamine or other narcotics to the Granite Shoals Police Department. Public health and safety continue to remain our #1 priority. [__#notkidding__](https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/notkidding?source=embed)
Police departments around the country must be in stitches just waiting for their local methamphetamine addicts to bring their incriminating contra-band in for testing.
Unfortunately, what is a funny prank, may ultimately backfire as it could erode people’s trust in government alerts about public health.
While anyone who brings their meth to the police does have bigger problems than public health, the [__Granite Shoals “joke”__](http://keyetv.com/news/local/fake-news-alert-about-contaminated-meth-leads-granite-shoals-police-to-one-arrest) has [__already made its way to snopes.com__](http://keyetv.com/news/local/fake-news-alert-about-contaminated-meth-leads-granite-shoals-police-to-one-arrest).
So if you see your friends breaking news about methamphetamine contaminated with ebola, you can tell them that it’s a hoax, and if they’re Breaking Bad to stay home.
Because it’s a clever, but serious police trap.
