Pastor Joel Osteen, the head of the Lakewood Church in Houston, was the target of an elaborate hoax that sought to convince people that he was removing himself from his religious work.
Although the cogs were set in motion a week ago on April Fools' Day, it wasn’t until Monday that the hoax gained widespread attention. Via Twitter, YouTube and a website of the prankers’ invention, they spread the news that Osteen would not only be closing his Texas church, but was renouncing his faith altogether.
The story has been declared untrue by Lakewood Church representative Andrea Davis, who said “Lakewood Church officials are aware of the hoax and ‘false rumor,' ” according to The Houston Chronicle. Osteen’s Twitter account featured a post by his staff on Monday morning, which read, “It is a false rumor: Pastor Joel is not leaving the church.”
The website created by those behind the hoax copied the look of Osteen’s real website, and used the same web address, without an “e” in "Osteen." On the website, there was a letter attributed to the famous pastor. It stated, “I am leaving the Christian Faith,” and went on to thank his family and congregation, “The State of Texas and my close friends, Oprah Winfrey and Larry King for all of your support over the years.”
Even more elaborate was the YouTube video that features mock-up images of major news websites such as CNN, Yahoo and Drudge Report splashed with headlines pertaining to Osteen leaving his faith. “Joel Osteen resigns, cites ‘lack of faith’, doubts ‘Christ’, says he will start ‘new religion’, claims he made ‘millions’, leaves Christian world in shock…” opens the hoax video to dramatic music. Uploaded by “ChristianityNews,” the video has currently been viewed over 80,000 times.
While some were duped by the hoax, many took to Osteen’s Facebook page to declare that they had not been fooled by the rumors. Those behind the delayed April Fools’ joke have yet to be identified.
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