Not all stories about Paris are true

You heard it on the radio Tuesday morning, read about it on your favorite news Web site and probably talked about it with your friends at work -- and not a single one of you thought it was true.

Looks like you were right.

A ridiculous story about socialite and humanitarian-wannabe Paris Hilton drawing attention to the supposedly growing problem of "binge-drinking elephants" was killed Tuesday night by the Associated Press.

Here is the full text of the AP's retraction:

GAUHATI, India -- In a Nov. 13 story, The Associated Press incorrectly reported that Paris Hilton was praised by conservationists for highlighting the problem of binge-drinking elephants in northeastern India. Lori Berk, a publicist for Hilton, said she never made any comments about helping drunken elephants in India.

The original stories contained quotes allegedly made by Hilton in Tokyo to the World Entertainment News Network, a service whose articles are often featured at the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com).

Among the phony quotes was this gem: "The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them."

The report included an account of "six parched pachyderms" breaking into a farm in India and drinking some homemade rice beer. This part of the story appears to be true -- the AP first reported it on Oct. 23, according to Daily Herald Web research. It was picked up by news sites around the world.

The part about Hilton being in Tokyo is true, too. Her trip there to judge a beauty contest with sister Nicky was widely publicized last week.