(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A downstate sheriff is pushing back on an online hoax involving meatballs and a unique ingredient.
Bennie Vick is the sheriff in Williamson County in far southern Illinois near the border with Kentucky.
He's pushing back on an online hoax that claimed a morgue assistant used human body parts to cook meatballs in a spaghetti cookoff.
The bogus story appeared on a satirical website at the end of July despite the many disclaimers that say the stories are satire, it's designed to look like a legitimate news site.
The story has been clicked on or shared on Facebook hundreds of thousands of times. In a Facebook post, Vick's office said the story is fake news on a fake news website.
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