NO, Justin Timberlake didn’t actually say nice things about Iowa City residents

FAKE NEWS

An article stating that Justin Timberlake acknowledged Iowa City residents for helping him with car trouble while passing through Iowa City is being shared around Facebook — and it is DEFINITELY fake.

I won’t say you’re any idiot if you fell for this one, but if the article didn’t at least make you skeptical enough to check out the website’s DISCLAIMER PAGE, you’re an idiot.

Just about everything in this article should have raised red flags, like not specifying what radio talk show Justin Timberlake was on sharing his love for “some burger place on Washington Street.”

And why the hell would Justin Timberlake be driving through Iowa City in a rental car? Come on, guys.

Multiple fact check websites like Snopes confirmed that the article is in fact stupid fake news, and definitely isn’t the first of its kind.

A number of other fake news websites have published a series of similar articles telling the same story: an A-list celebrity encounters car trouble while driving through a conveniently remote little town, gets help from a few friendly locals, and gives a public shout-out while on an unnamed talk show.

Don’t believe us? Tom Hanks has apparently been to Council Bluffs recently.

While the article was super cute and heart-warming because we all know Iowa City is such a great place, stop sharing it.

Don’t believe everything you read online, like random sites labeled “local news” without specifying where “local” is. Websites publishing articles without authors or dates are also usually fake.

Stay woke, Hawkeyes.

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