CERN ritual hoax

The CERN ritual hoax is a found footage video that depicts a faux occult ritual occurring in the grounds of CERN, the intergovernmental organization that operates the largest particle physics laboratory in the world. The video became popular in August 2016 and shows several people dressed in black cloaks surrounding a statue of the Hindu deity Shiva and apparently performing a human sacrifice, in apparent mockery of existing conspiracy theories which suggest that CERN aims to use the Large Hadron Collider to create a portal to hell, summon the antichrist, or destroy the universe.^[1] The video ended with the person filming crying out and running away.^[2]

Frame from the video depicting people in cloaks gathered around the statue of Shiva

Reactions

A CERN spokesperson stated that the video was a prank and that no one was actually harmed.^[3] CERN stated in its FAQ that the video was "fiction" and the actions were outside its professional guidelines and without any official permission.^[4] CERN stated that it "doesn't tolerate this kind of spoof" and that it can "give rise to misunderstandings about the scientific nature of our work".^[5]