Sorry, Modesto: Bruno Mars did not, actually, have this to say about you

There’s an adage among reporters: If your mama says she loves you, check it out.

That was good advice this weekend, when it appeared pop star Bruno Mars said he loved us. A link credited to “WYNE 8 News” made the rounds around social media with the enticing headline: “What Bruno Mars said about Modesto, California residents.” Several organizations and people shared the link on their Facebook pages.

The site is satirical and makes these clickbait stories for a number of cities. A disclaimer notes, “The satirical and fantasy articles on wyne8.com poke fun at our celebrity obsessed cultures and the politically correct world we are forced to live in.”

But we’re not alone, Modesto. According to Snopes.com, which checks out these sorts of stories, they have been running rampant for more than a year. But no, Tom Hanks didn’t say anything about the residents of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Harrison Ford didn’t say anything about the residents of Warner Robins, Georgia.

If you want to read about a real celebrity who did visit Modesto, you can check out our coverage of rapper Macklemore’s visit to his grandma last week.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 10:58 AM.