You can't believe everything you read on the internet.

If you're like me, you've probably had friends sharing a story about the Cracker Barrel restaurant coming to Ocean County. My Facebook news feed was flooded with friends getting excited, posting links and commenting.

The problem is, the website "Channel 23 News" is a prank website. It's the same concept as that website that reported The Rock (or Sam Jackson, or Sean Connery, or whoever) died while filming a movie in New Zealand. It's essentially a Mad-Libs website. You enter a celeb, a restaurant, a town, and the website mashes it all together to imply that The Rock fell off a cliff while filming a stunt, or a new restaurant is coming to the area.

A joke website like this is harmless compared to the vitriol that comes from #fakenews in the realm of politics, but it's still a good reminder to CHECK YOUR FACTS.

I'm not saying you need to call up the corporate office of Cracker Barrel and ask them if they're really expanding to Lacey, but at the very least, don't just read a headline then share the story. "Channel 23 News" has imagery all over the page saying "you've been pranked" and "you got owned", so that should be your first clue.

Start sharing facts instead of sensational headlines!

More From 105.7 The Hawk