Microsoft, AP Disavow Story

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

        NEW YORK (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. on Friday disavowed a joke
circulating on the Internet in the form of a fake news story that
said the software company planned to acquire the Roman Catholic
church.
        The fake news story purported to have been written by The
Associated Press. The news service said it had no connection with
the joke.
        The joke has circulated on the Internet, the global network of
computer networks, for at least a week.
        Microsoft issued its statement after several days of calls from
people who thought the ``story'' might be true, company spokeswoman
Christine Santucci said.
        ``Given the seriousness of the issue, it's not something we
wanted to be associated with,'' she said.
        Neither Microsoft nor AP know where the fake story originated.
        Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., is the world's largest maker
of personal computer software. The AP, headquartered in New York,
is the world's largest news organization.