Brazilian news outlets fooled by prank video that showed man dressed as Santa Claus being arrested by fake cops

It's always better to check the sources on your list twice before publishing a story. 

A few Brazilian news outlets were duped into thinking that a man dressed as Santa Claus was arrested for robbery when it was really a prank set up by a bevy of social media influencers.

The footage went viral Wednesday when two influencers dressed as cops were filmed handcuffing and escorting Santa down a street in the northeastern city of Recife.

Shocked bystanders could be seen holding their cellphones out in disbelief as the actor cops restrained the fake Father Christmas.

Brazilian influencers carried out a prank Wednesday in the northeastern city, filming the arrest of a man dressed as Santa Claus. Several news outlets reported that individual had actually been arrested for stealing from stores in the area before the influencers revealed it was all a joke

Influencers in Brazil recorded the hilarious moment a man wearing a Santa Claus outfit was arrested and escorted away in the city of Recife

The 'bad' Santa was led down the sidewalk while one of the fake cops held on to a red present bag, which contained items that news outlets reported had been stolen from several stores in the vicinity.

Video clips of the fabricated arrest were widely shared on social media before it was cleared up hours later.

'How do you post something like that as if it were true?' a YouTuber said, according to online news outlet O Bem Dito. 'This was a joke filmed by comedian YouTubers from Recife, including Rafael Chocolate.' 

Rafael Chocolate, who has more than 856,000 followers on Instagram, promised to upload a full video of the production on YouTube on Thursday.

'Due to all the repercussions, we will do our best to publish the video of this operation tomorrow on the channel,' he said on an Instagram Story. 

Brazilian influencer Rafael Chocolate was planning on released the full recording of the prank that he and other comedians made Wednesday of a man dressed up as Santa Claus being arrested

Despite the prank, the state of Pernambuco has been focused on reinforcing security measures across several cities during the holiday season.

Despite the prank, the state of Pernambuco has been focused on reinforcing security measures across several cities during the holiday season.

Additional police officers were deployed Friday in Recife, the capital city, to endure that businesses and shoppers were safe.

Police presence was increased in the nearby town of Sertao, were 500 cops were deployed. 

An additional 300 officers were also assigned to ensure safety in the towns of Petrolina, Dormentes and Afranio.