PYONGYANG, North Korea, July 14 (UPI) -- A news spoof declaring North Korea finalists in the 2014 FIFA World Cup even fooled some media outlets into publishing the news as a legitimate government broadcast on their websites.
Due to North Korea's high level of secrecy and isolation, most of the news from the country comes from North Korean state-run media. One North Korean news parody account, Korea News Backup, posted a spoof on a North Korean news broadcast declaring North Korea finalists in the World Cup.
The fake news report said that North Korea annihilated their competition -- including specifically Japan, the U.S. and China -- to head to the finals against Portugal. North Korea has not qualified for a World Cup since 2010, and Portugal was eliminated in this year's World Cup in the group stage.
North Korea is receiving taped broadcasts of the World Cup, albeit on a 24-35 hour delay, so North Koreans know what is happening. However, some outlets still reported the spoof as a propaganda broadcast, including the Toronto Sun, The Mirror, and the U.K. Metro. After realizing their error, some of those outlets have updated their stories, claiming it was part of a broadcast from the North Korean government.
North Korean citizens with televisions will be watching Germany defeat Argentina in the finals as soon as the government broadcasts the taped match.