Fake Article Prompts NYC Mosque Opponents to Boycott Justin Bieber

The debate over the Ground Zero mosque has Americans' running on high emotions and short tempers, as evidenced by the latest efforts to boycott the proposed Islamic center project, dubbed "Park 51."

Some opponents of the project recently launched a boycott of pop star Justin Bieber over the Canadian singer's reported support for the Ground Zero mosque project. The only problem is, Bieber apparently never endorsed the project, or even discussed it publicly for that matter.

The alleged Bieber-Tiger Beat interview appeared on a website called CelebJihad.com:

In an interview with Tiger Beat, the pop sensation stressed that freedom of religion is what makes America great, and went on to say that those who oppose the Mosque are motivated by bigotry.

“Muslims should be allowed to build a mosque anywhere they want,” the singer said. “Coming from Canada, I’m not used to this level of intolerance, eh.”

Bieber went on to say that Muslims are “super cool,” Christians are “lame-o-rama,” and that the mosque will help “start a dialogue” with all religions about which Justin Bieber song is the most awesome.

“I was like seven when September 11th went down, and frankly I’m surprised people are still going on about it. Move on, already!”

The interview was later discovered to be a complete fabrication, but not before Ground Zero mosque opponents organized an online boycott of Bieber via Facebook:

"Justin took an adult position and spoke out in support of the mosque in tigar beat [sic] magazine," a page administrator wrote. "He one of the most influential teen sensations ... If he is going to play like the big boys he better expect some back lash..."

The website that started the rumor, CelebJihad.com, is actually a self-described "satirical" site that features "published rumors, speculation, assumptions, opinions, fiction as well as factual information."

Salon.com reached out to the website's proprietor who confirmed that the Bieber story was a hoax.  "[T]he fact that some people take it seriously is hilariously depressing," he said.