An online parody tricked some Fredericton residents into believing an afternoon curfew was in place this Halloween, serving as a reminder why you shouldn’t believe everything you read.

The Manatee, a Fredericton-based satirical website, has been getting a laugh out of some people while getting others all worked up.

A post on Tuesday titled ‘PSA: NB Halloween curfew set for 4:30 p.m. this year’ suggested violators of the curfew would be fined based on how much effort was put into their costume.

The post received 50,000 views. Some recognized the post as a parody. Others did not.

Fredericton Police was forced to issue a statement hours after the post was made, assuring no afternoon Halloween curfew was in place.

Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside says he was peppered with questions about the fake news item.

“I had a number of people asking me, first on Twitter and through social media,” said Woodside. “Basically I responded back, saying it’s the first I’ve heard of it.”

A co-creator of the website says she was stunned so many people took it as fact.

“We were really surprised that most people believed it and shared it,” said Shauna Chase, a co-creator of the website.

An earlier post on the website titled “IKEA to open in Bathurst, southern NB outraged,” garnered a similar reaction of people taking it as true. The post said Bathurst Mayor Stephen LeBlanc changed his name to Sven Bürneet as a way to pay homage to the Swedish furniture maker.

”I’vebeen trying to put more ridiculous twists in the headlines now so that they’re obviously parody or satire,” said Chase.

Michael Camp, a journalism professor at St. Thomas University, said people need to take more responsibility in checking the sources of information they receive and share – particularly online.

“I would hate to live in a world where you can’t have humour on the Internet, I think it’s great,” said Camp. “But I think it’s part of an education process for the consumers of information.”

Chase said she would like the website to branch out to include parodies about all three Maritime provinces.

“We all have the same culture and comedic flavor I guess,” she said.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore