Fake copies of Washington Post circulated in DC, headline reads 'Trump hastily departs White House'

Washington DC woke up to a surprise on Wednesday, January 16, when several residents were handed a mock edition of the Washington Post, which claimed that president Donald Trump had resigned. The paper is dated May 1, 2019.

The fake copies carried an image of Trump along with a headline which read: "Unpresidented: Trump hastily departs White House, ending crisis." Other headlines on the fake broadsheet read: "Celebrations break out worldwide as Trump era ends" and "How DC stepped up to shut down Trump."

The fake edition of the Post goes on to say that the president did not explain his decision, but it quoted unknown White House sources saying that they had found a napkin on Trump's table. "Donald Trump appears to have abandoned the White House and abdicated his role as president," the story said.

"He issued no formal statement, though four White House aides — who spoke under condition of anonymity — claim they found a napkin on the president's desk ... with the following message: "Blame Crooked Hillary & Hfior & the Fake News Media."

The fake paper created quite a buzz and people said that the copies were circulated near the White House, at Union Station and in downtown Washington, reported the Hill. After the images of the paper started appearing on social media and became a hot topic of discussion, the Washington Post released a statement clarifying the matter.

"There are fake print editions of The Washington Post being distributed around downtown DC, and we are aware of a website attempting to mimic The Post's," it said. "They are not Post products, and we are looking into this."

The origin of the mock paper remains unknown. While the Post said that Code Pink, an activist group, had posted a video on Facebook that showed its founder distributing the copies, the group has clarified that it was just the distributor and was not the one that published the mock up.

Amid these reports, one cannot help but wonder how president Trump would react to this mock paper, considering he has often lashed out at media outlets for reporting "fake news." The White House is yet to react to the matter.