Shame on Spielberg, dinosaur slayer?!

Maybe some dummies thought Steven Spielberg got together with Mr. Peabody, the talking dog with the time machine, to go on a prehistoric dino hunt.

Or maybe there's a lot of fake stupid going around, to pull other people's legs.

Fake stupid and real stupid can be tough to tell apart these days.

The buzz began last week with a spoofy Facebook post of the famous Jurassic Park director in a photo with a dead-looking mechanical Triceratops. So far, the item has spawned more than 9,900 comments, 17,000 likes, 41,000 shares and dozens of "news" stories (like this one).

The post, by Jay Branscomb, read:

"Disgraceful photo of recreational hunter happily posing next to a Triceratops he just slaughtered. Please share so the world can name and shame this despicable man."

The obvious joke echoed real cases of celebrities posing with big game they bagged and bragged about.

Maybe it wasn't obvious to everybody. For instance, this comment:

F---ing disgusting!!! They are an endangered species, doesn't anyone have a heart these days?

That, in turn, led to comments and even news stories declaring there were dopes who don't realize dinosaurs went extinct, like, millions of years ago. One such comment:

Most of these idiots make me hate humanity. Dinosaurs died out millions of years ago dumbasses. Go back, turn in your diplomas, and start school all over again... And please, dont breed.

Perhaps some of the "idiots" were thinking rhino instead of dino? Or maybe some/most/all were joshing, too?

So gotta shame the shamers who shamed the Spielberg blamers:

I am here to make fun of the idiots who thought that there were idiots who thought this was real. Some people are actually so stupid that they believe that another someone is stupid enough to believe that Speilburg would kill a dinosaur. Learn to read sarcasm! If you believe that people are dumb enough to believe in dinosaurs, YOU'RE the dumb one! SARCASM! It exists, unlike triceratops.

Wait, now let's shame those people, too!

I like comments by the really "smart" people explaining that this is a joke and not understanding the sarcasm like everyone in the world is an idiot except for that "smart" person.

Makes you appreciate those who are clearly kidding:

OMG, Taylor Swift killed a Unicorn this morning too. What is the world coming to?

Can't fool us. We know Taylor Swift is just a fictional character.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.