Ever since Harambe the gorilla was merked in broad daylight at the Cincinatti Zoo after a three-year-old found his way into the gorilla enclosure, the internet has been on one, riding for Harambe more than some of its blood relatives. In a culture where shotglasses for Harambe are a thing, it's not hard to believe that an ill-fated poll to name a gorilla at a Chinese zoo turned into a gorilla possibly being named "Harambe McHarambeface," right?
According to the Daily Mail, the Jinhua Zoo in China held a poll to name their new baby gorilla. As the story goes, #HarambeHive got wind of said poll and showed out, bringing in an astonishing 73,345 votes (aka about 93% of total votes on the poll) for "Harambe McHarambeface" (which is said to be a play on "Boaty McBoatface").
The problem? There's serious doubt that Boston Leader—the site that broke the story—is on the level. Apparently this site isn't even a week old, and if you click on any link that isn't the "Harambe McHarambeface" story, it brings you a "Service Unavailable" error. According to BuzzFeed, the Jinhua Zoo's official website and social media accounts have been collecting cobwebs since 2013, and they might not even have gorillas at said zoo.
It makes sense; the Philadelphia Zoo recently announced a baby gorilla naming contest, and of course the entire world wants it to be named Harambe. And if you ever doubted how deep #HarambeHive rolls, check out the Cincinnati Bengals' Instagram right now; people are looking for #justiceforHarambe all over the Bengals' trip to the Cincinatti Zoo.
None of this actual information has stopped the story from going viral though, so now is as good a time as any to remind you faithful internets that you should only believe half of what you read, and nothing that you hear. RIP Harambe, though.
