“Phuc Dat Bich”: The Facebook Hoax That Sent The World On Haywire

In what could be a frustrating or relieving move, a man owned up to making a hoax accusing Facebook of discrimination with Facebook's controversial "Real Name" policy. Last January, a man came out claiming that his Facebook account has been shut down by the company for a couple of times. He stated that he even had to post a screenshot of his Australian passport that shows his full legal name just to have his account back and spare himself from being falsely accused of using a fake and misleading name.

The screenshot shown was an Australian passport which shows the man's name as "Phuc Dat Bich." Supposedly, he had his account suspended due to the social network's "Real Name" policy. The post of the said man has earned recognition and has become viral by the mid-November. The media feasted on his story, news organizations from all over the world reported about it, although no interviews were granted.

But the plot thickens now. The Facebook account with the name "Phuc Dat Bich" posted a statement admitting that the story that went viral has no truth in it. The Melbourne man of 23 years old admitted that everything was a lie. The screenshot was doctored and the name was invented. It was all a ruse to fool the media and to put the shortcomings of Facebook's policy into the spotlight.

The man wrote that Facebook needs to understand that it is impossible to legitimise a place where there will be tricksters and pranksters. He even said that it was started as a joke between him and his friends that went on to become a full blown prank to fool the media and to bring out the best in people. According to the man who signed his name to be Joe Carr, the prank brought out levity and humanity in a time that the world needs it the most.

With the experience he got from the ordeal, he has concluded that the credibility of the media is not to be trusted as it is full of hungry journalist who will twist stories and hide the truth, and by his latest stunt, proved that even an average man like him was able to con the biggest news source easily.

Several reporters have been in contact with him and have since asked who he really is but he wasn't keen on admitting his real identity. Earlier it could be recalled that when the news was going full circle, technology publisher and journalist Trevor Long has wrote an article entitled "Fake Name or Real Name - Phuc Dat Bich: Is he trolling the media?" which discusses the issue.

Long has brought suspicions against the supposed claims. The journalist went on to state that the only evidence is the screenshot of the passport which if one notices the weight of the font on the passport is different from the others on the page. Long had just been proved right.

Another qualified Vietnamese teacher has also aired his side that the name "Phuc Dat Bich" is full of middle names and first names. Which he recalled could be the first time in his life he had heard of a Vietnamese person to have.