Bill Murray ‘Stops Bank Robbery in Tokyo Accidentally’ is Satire

Actors Jeff Goldblum and Bill Murray speak to each other at the photo call for the film The Grand Budapest Hotel during the International Film Festival Berlinale, in Berlin, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt)

An article saying actor Bill Murray stopped a bank robbery in Tokyo on accident is just satire.

The article, published on satire site NationalReport.net, says “a bank robber was apprehended today in Tokyo after stopping to talk with none other than Bill Murray.”

It continues: “‘The man robbed the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, ran out, saw Bill Murray walking on the street and stopped to talk with him. This is when authorities were able to arrest the suspect,’ Tokyo Police Chief Hideyoshi Mori told reporters.”

But according to its disclaimer, the National Report doesn’t publish real news.

“National Report is a news and political satire web publication, which may or may not use real names, often in semi-real or mostly fictitious ways. All news articles contained within National Report are fiction, and presumably fake news. Any resemblance to the truth is purely coincidental,” it says.

This week, a number of people apparently believed the Murray article, tweeting it and sharing it on Facebook thousands of times.