Internet hoax claims anti-gay politician believed gay dating app was to find coffee shops
Former US presidential candidate Rick Santorum has recently been the subject of an Internet hoax that claimed he had been caught with a well-known gay dating app on his iPhone.
The confusion stemmed from an article published by The Daily Currant, a satirical news site, on Tuesday.
The post claimed that Santorum had downloaded Grindr, had it on his iPhone and told a reporter it was for finding Starbucks' locations.
"Is that - is that - Grindr Mr. Santorum?" the young reporter can be heard saying on videotape of the incident." America's number one gay dating app?"
"Grindr? What's no? The yellow one? Oh right. OK. Grindr. Like coffee grinds. Yeah that's something I downloaded for coffee It finds the nearest Starbucks."
Despite the fact that the article appears on a satirical news site, it has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.
This is not the first time the anti-gay politician has been the subject of an Internet hoax.
In 2003, advice columnist and gay rights advocate Dan Savage, furious over comments Santorum made comparing gay sex to bestiality and incest, decided to "redefine" the word "Santorum." Savage created "spreadingsantorum.com," and with the help of similarly outraged people, spread the new, sexual definition of the then-Senator's last name all over the Internet.
Santorum referred to the hoax as his 'Google problem.'
According to the Daily Currant, the Santorum post has amassed about 75,000 page views and 12 times the traffic in one day than in the entire three months since the site launched.
The confusion stemmed from an article published by The Daily Currant, a satirical news site, on Tuesday.
The post claimed that Santorum had downloaded Grindr, had it on his iPhone and told a reporter it was for finding Starbucks' locations.
"Is that - is that - Grindr Mr. Santorum?" the young reporter can be heard saying on videotape of the incident." America's number one gay dating app?"
"Grindr? What's no? The yellow one? Oh right. OK. Grindr. Like coffee grinds. Yeah that's something I downloaded for coffee It finds the nearest Starbucks."
Despite the fact that the article appears on a satirical news site, it has been shared thousands of times on Facebook.
This is not the first time the anti-gay politician has been the subject of an Internet hoax.
In 2003, advice columnist and gay rights advocate Dan Savage, furious over comments Santorum made comparing gay sex to bestiality and incest, decided to "redefine" the word "Santorum." Savage created "spreadingsantorum.com," and with the help of similarly outraged people, spread the new, sexual definition of the then-Senator's last name all over the Internet.
Santorum referred to the hoax as his 'Google problem.'
According to the Daily Currant, the Santorum post has amassed about 75,000 page views and 12 times the traffic in one day than in the entire three months since the site launched.
