Atlanta radio station behind hoax Bieber protest

ATLANTA, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The hosts of an Atlanta radio show garnered national news attention for a hoax protest of pop star Justin Bieber's potential new home in the city.

The hosts of the "Regular Guys" radio show on WNNX-FM, Atlanta, discussed the news last week that Bieber is considering purchasing a home in the city's upscale Buckhead neighborhood, and host Larry Wachs suggested residents may want to protest the singer's possible move to the area, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

The show's interns created a phony Facebook page for the "Buckhead Neighborhood Coalition" and used it to announce a fictional protest. The page went viral, sparking national coverage and calls to the real Buckhead Coalition, led by former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell.

A group of the show's interns staged the hoax protest Monday morning in front of the mansion Bieber is reported to be interested in buying.

Regular Guys crew member Tim Andrews said he fielded questions about the fake protest from media outlets including CNN and BBC.

"We kind of took steps to make it work and then release it into the ether," Wachs said Monday. "We couldn't predict how wide it would go but by Sunday afternoon, it was apparent this was going to be big."