claim: A man was attacked and raped in Atlanta by a gay gang known as the "Sweet Bloods."
origin: An undated April 2017 item published by Viral Actions claimed that Atlanta man Fernando Hutchins was attacked and raped by a â€œgay gangâ€ known as the â€œSweet Bloodsâ€: < THEY MAY BE GAY BUT THAT PISTOL MADE ME PAY, I GAVE UP MY MONEY, CREDIT CARDS AND MY @SS, THEY TIED ME UP, ROBBED ME AND F*CKED THE SH????T OUT ME, I HOPE THIS DONâ€™T MEAN Iâ€™M GAYâ€ Said a shook up Fernando Hutchins about his encounter with Gay Atlanta gang set the Sweet Bloods. Police responded to the W hotel in downtown Atlanta where reports of a carjacking took place. Once they arrived they found a distraught Fernando Hutchins laying on his stomach because he had been assaulted. He required 24 stitches to his anal cavity. The sweet Bloods gang has been terrorizing the downtown Atlanta area for the last couple weeks with a string of robberies and carjackings. > The same claim was previously published in December 2016 by Blakk Pepper; that iteration includedÂ a clue about its dubious origins: < Fernando will have to undergo counseling for the trauma he received but he released a statement to the public: â€œTHESE FA**OTS IS OUT HERE RAPING EVERYBODY, ONE OF EM LOOK LIKE PINKY FROM FRIDAY SO IF YOU SEE A DUDE WITH PINK HAIR WALKING WITH A SWITCH YOU BETTER GET GHOSTâ€ â€” FERNANDO tmzworldnews.com > Blakk Pepper credited TMZWorldNews for the recycled falsehood, though that siteâ€™s version of the story no longer appears to be live. TMZWorldNewsÂ and sibling sites Celebtricity,Â TMZWorldStar,TMZUncut, andÂ TMZBreakingÂ are all known purveyors of fake news and hoaxes, although none include a disclaimer warning readers about the fabrications they spread. In February 2016, TMZWorldNewsÂ used the same photograph that appeared in the stories about the purported gay gang rapes in an article claiming a study proved 80 percent of men in Atlanta were gay.