A hoax story posted on the website of CNN claimed that our planet will be hit by a giant asteroid in just 30 years. Many people who read the story believed it and even CNN started for facts about when researchers revealed this news. The story went viral online soon after it was posted.

The report came from CNN's iReport section which allows locals to publish news about the topics of their interest. It was said in the news that scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have detected a large object
similar to the size of Manhattan approaching earth and set to collide within 30 years.

The post also claimed that the scientists used their Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) to detect the 10-mile wide asteroid. The distance between the asteroid and earth when the scientists detected it was approximately 51 million miles.

However, one flaw in the news made it clear that the story was fake. It said that the collision between earth and the asteroid in question will take place on March 35, 2041.

After NASA was contacted to confirm the news, it was made clear by the US space agency no such asteroid had even been detected by its scientists and the story is false. Also, NASA said the largest asteroid that has been
detected by it as of now is only 3 km in diameter and poses no threat to humanity.

Soon after the conformation was sought by NASA that the news was false, CNN removed the news from its website, but by that time the news had amassed more than 233,939 views and 23,000 shares.

CNN posted a replaced the hoax news with a stamen that reads, "NASA has confirmed via email that this story is false. A spokeswoman for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory says that the largest object detected by NEOWISE measures 3 km in diameter and poses no risk to Earth. The iReport has been removed".