Thanks to an accompanying hoax press release, thousands assume the picture is real

Dec 10, 2012 15:57 GMT  ·  By

This picture showing a baby panda flying first class from China to the US first hit the online community about a year ago, yet it took some time before it became a viral sensation.

And this only happened because of an accompanying hoax press release which many mistook for accurate, and because of its being reposted by Geyser of Awesome.

Thus, Geyser of Awesome posted this picture this past Saturday, and with it came the following message from China Airlines:

“After extensive consultation with the Sanctury's veterinary staff it was concluded that the importance of the panda cub precluded it from traveling in the hold of the aircraft, where attending to its needs would be difficult.”

“Thus China Airlines agreed to donate seats in its Business Traveler First cabin for the panda cub named Squee Squee and his carer, Fu Jiang Lang, seen here sitting in the window seat.”

Rest assured, no panda ever got to fly business class, and this picture is merely a hoax that somehow ended up fooling thousands of viewers.

In all fairness, no self-respecting press release from any airline company would end in the following manner: “'In the interests of hygiene Squee Squee wore a plastic nappy to take care of pandapoop during the flight,” Daily Mail explains.