There is a growing trend in the news – dubious online stories with stock images, no real detail, and an outlandish yarn that will pull in the punters.

And finally tonight to foreign news…

Nigerian restaurant shut down for serving HUMAN FLESH – and had bags in kitchen containing heads that were still bleeding

— Daily Mail, 16th May, 2015

Yes, you can always trust the Daily Mail to have the stories you really want to read … which is why it’s one of the most popular news sites in the world.

And when the Mail finds a scoop, its rivals at News.com.au are rarely far behind .

When police raided the restaurant they discovered human heads that were still bleeding with the blood draining into plastic bags.

— News.com.au, 17th May, 2015

You would not believe the things that happen in Africa.

And if you looked at this story—which was gobbled up by the media across Australia, Britain, America, Africa and Asia, there was plenty of reason to doubt if it was true.

For a start all the stories had the same quotes from the same unnamed witnesses, like the priest who said:

“I did not know I had been served with human meat, and that it was that expensive.”

— News.com.au, 17th May, 2015

Read more here.