It’s totally fake.
This hoax story from a site called East Asia Tribune claimed there is a family in Singapore that has a longstanding tradition whereby the men lose their virginity in front of their relatives. Like, all in one bedroom together:
The story was first published at the end of March, but recently it's been spreading on Facebook and has been picked up by other websites.
To date, the original story has generated over 50,000 likes, shares, and comments on Facebook. The East Asia Tribune's website says the story has been viewed more than 500,000 times.
But in reality this is nothing more than a successful piece of bullshit from an utterly dubious source. Let's break it down.
East Asia Tribune / Via eastasiatribune.com
The original fake story claimed that "Singaporean social media has been captivated" by the tale, and said the photo was shared by a relative of the groom. But there are no links to the original photo, or to other social media posts. Mostly, it's being shared by other sites that copied the salacious story.
The photo of the supposed consummating couple has in fact been a bit of a meme in China since at least 2013. It often appears in social media posts and in stories that claim it shows family members watching two newlyweds have sex.
The East Asia Tribune took the photo and altered it for its story. The orientation was flipped, and the man on the far left has clearly been added by Photoshop.
On the floor you can also see cables that would typically be there if someone had set up cameras and lighting for a video shoot.
That's notable because in its debunking of the story, Malaysian site Mothership.sg claimed the photo is actually a behind-the-scenes still from Due West: Our Sex Journey, a 2012 softcore porn made in China.
East Asia Tribune/BuzzFeed Canada
