Better not beliebe it: protests against justin bieber moving to atlanta "a hoax"

Photo: NRK P3

The pop star was reported this week to be house hunting away from the California scene, checking out a 16,000 square-foot mansion in Tuxedo Park. According to TMZ, Bieber was particularly keen to find a home that cannot be seen from the street, or perhaps neighbours who said he threw wild parties and accused him of egging homes.

Locals in Atlanta were none too pleased about the celebrity's possible move onto their turf, with a group of homeowners reported by many media outlets this week as protesting the pop star's property hunt.

Now, though, the angry outbursts have been revealed as a hoax. The prank by radio station Rock 100.5 was the brain child of morning show The Regular Guys, who set up the fake Buckhead Neighbour Coalition and organised a pretend protest outside one house that was for sale.

Tim Andrews, a staff member at the radio station, also appeared on CNN to answer questions about the protest: "We’re concerned he’ll bring the wrong type of element into a quiet, residential area," he said, adopting the fake name of Harold White.

A group on Facebook was also set up by "Mr. White" called "Protest Justin Bieber Moving to Buckhead".