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Music

Lorde's Grammy Speech Was Not Censored: The Internet Is Stupid

Sigh.

Currently, you're probably seeing mentions in your Twitter timeline that read something like this:

#Lorde was not permitted to give the Grammy acceptance speech she'd prepared. See why here: http://t.co/XktmDpuvHW

— John Perry Barlow (@JPBarlow) February 11, 2014

I didn't see the Grammy's but wow, wish I had: Clipping Queen Bee’s Wings: Lorde’s real Grammy speech suppressed http://t.co/VXHPM5fuBx

— Denise Spiessens (@speezyD) February 12, 2014

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Can't believe she's only 17… If you don't think Lorde is extremely gifted, you gotta read this. http://t.co/C51YpeX9Kt

— Chelsea Baratz (@chelseabaratz) February 12, 2014

If you search "Lorde Grammy" on Twitter, you'll find more.

So, what the fuck are these people talking about? Well, it's simple. Earlier this week, a "news" organization posted a story titled "Clipping Queen Bee’s Wings: Lorde’s real Grammy speech suppressed," in which a "reporter" named Iggy Swind explained that Lorde, rather than thanking her fans in the typical award acceptance speech fashion, delivered a "scathing indictment of global capitalism." But, because big brother is always watching, the Grammys telecast had a one-minute delay and switched to a rehearsal take that had been shot earlier. Later, the same "news" organization posted the transcript in length, which you can read here.

Now this is crazy, right? You should go tweet angrily about this, right? Get pissed because the man is supressing our freedom of speech! #HASHTAGS!

Actually, don't do that. Because believe it or not—even though this appeared on a website and is in an article form and looks like it is a real story from a real news organization with reporters and telephones and laptops and voice recorders—this is not a real story. This is a fake story.

On top of our own Kim Taylor-Bennett attending the Grammys and laughing and debunking this story immediately when we asked her about it, there's some pretty clear evidence that this is a dumb internet thing. If you take a closer look at the article, you'll notice it's filed under "satire, sarcasm, and snoofs." What's more is that the reporter's bio, which you'll find at the end of the story, is the following:

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Journalist Iggy Swind has worked alongside reporter Clark Kent at theDaily Planet and photojournalist Peter Parker at the Daily Bugle. Swind’s investigations proved both super-heroes work undercover for the Hollywood media cartel to distract mass audiences with their mediocre ‘saving the world’ action sagas, leaving those that run the world at-large. Those investigations have been suppressed.

Typically, we wouldn't report on something as stupid as this. But today alone, I've been sent the story as a tip by at least five people. Not to mention that our friends at the Quietus, as you can see below, wanted to inquire with Lorde directly about it.

Let's just take this moment to remember that not everything we read on the internet is fact. Unless you read it on Noisey.

Eric Sundermann can fly and breathe underwater. He's on Twitter@ericsundy