A prominent French scientist has revealed that a supposed photograph of a distant star posted on his Twitter feed was actually a slice of chorizo.
Étienne Klein, 64, director of research at the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission, said his joke was designed to alert social media users to the need to be wary of fake news.
On Sunday, Klein released a photograph of what he said was Proxima Centauri, the closest known star to the sun, claiming it had been taken by the James Webb Telescope, the $10 billion instrument that is Hubble’s successor. He praised the “level of detail” and added: “A new world is being revealed day by day.”
The post was retweeted and commented on by