A Daily Star exclusive on Wednesday "revealed" that a new video game based on the incidents involving killer Raoul Moat had been met with shock and surprise.
It was an even greater shock and surprise when the paper's story about the creation of Grand Theft Auto Rothbury - illustrated with a faked cover - turned out to be an invention.
I doubt that the Star made it up. Much more likely is that the paper walked into a hoax by publishing a story that was just too good to check.
Gaming sites were quick to spot that it was all nonsense. Several of them - including The Escapist and LazyGamer - pointed out that the Star story quoted from the grandmother of Moat's girlfriend as saying the game was "beyond belief."
Indeed, it was. For the record, it has now been removed from the Star's website.
