Cambodian Midget Fighting League
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The Cambodian Midget Fighting League (or CMFL) is the premise of an Internet hoax that was widely circulated around the Internet beginning in May, 2005. A fake BBC news article was created for the purposes of a prank within the author's group of friends, although it leaked out to the general Internet.
The hoax was particularly significant as the article was taken on face value by a good deal of British Newspapers and Magazines. Some newspapers referred to the incident as a tragedy, but - interestingly - some magazines, notably 'lad's mag' FHM, reported it as news, but did so from a humorous angle. Whether wittingly or not, the hoaxers had drawn attention to the callous nature of the British press.
The article was also commented on in episode two, season one of The Ricky Gervais Show, where the discussion also regarded the incident as a real event.
Other notable appearances of the article include:
-The May 20, 2005 episode of The Howard Stern Show
-The May 20, 2005 issue of the New York Post
-The November 2005 issue of Maxim Magazine
-as a background article in the Hitman: Blood Money video game after the 'A House of Cards' Las Vegas Casino level
-many other US radio stations
[edit] Premise
The article reported at a tragedy at a midget-versus-lion fight in Cambodia. A fan of the Cambodian Midget Fighting League challenged the league's president in response to a recent league advertising campaign that the midgets will "take on anything; man, beast, or machine". The fan claimed that one lion could defeat the entire league of forty-two midget fighters. Accepting the challenge, an African lion was flown to Kampong Chhnang especially for the event.
- "The fight was called in only 12 minutes, after which 28 fighters were declared dead, while the other 14 suffered severe injuries including broken bones and lost limbs, rendering them unable to fight back."
[edit] Author
The original article spoofing BBC News was written by an American college student in order to 'resolve' a dispute between friends at the University of Virginia.
[edit] External links
- Lion Mutilates 42 Midgets in Cambodian Ring-Fight Read a copy of the article.
- Story Behind the Article The disclaimer the author made once he learned his site had 'gone public' to explain why the article was created.
