5 days ago
The Mancunian Way: Closing down after 29 years
I was sad to hear that John and Alice Harper were closing down their beloved King Street boutique after 29 years in business. A picture of the couple showed them arm in arm proudly grinning at the camera outside the shop.
There was just one problem - they don't exist.
In fact John and Alice are AI inventions created to dupe online shoppers into buying cheap goods from China. You can tell there is something odd when you look at John's hand, which appears to have a thumb that spans about 12cm.
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The scam was revealed by Manchester Evening News writer Charlotte Fisher earlier this month and investigated by reporter James Holt.
James has been looking into the issue further and has found there are dozens of these adverts re-using brand images and modelling photographs for garments worth just a few pounds.
Websites are popping up to sell the same items with a much higher price tag, all while deceptively advertising themselves on social media.
The scammers have even gone so far as to create falsified Trustpilot reviews for these 'shops'. But anyone who tries to return items to Harper Manchester will have to use the address in the Zhejiang province of China, 6,000 miles away. Not exactly the beloved local business we were led to believe.
Harper Manchester's Facebook page was initially taken down for violating Meta's policies.
But less than a fortnight on, new adverts for the website have appeared across social media platforms.
This time, AI-generated adverts created entirely new personas of the store's owners. It was no longer John and Alice Harper, but an older, grey-haired man in an apron outside a shop. While another ad showed a younger man in a dark-coloured shirt, again outside a different store.
Similarly, Beaumont London claimed to have been 'set up by two sisters' - but linked to a returns address to a warehouse in the Tai Kok Tsui region of Hong Kong.
Again using AI generated images of two women, the ads described a major closing down sale after 29 years with the owner ready for 'a new chapter' after becoming a grandmother. 'It's a bittersweet decision, but one made with a full and grateful heart,' it reads.
You can read James' full, startling, investigation here.
James Asquith holds the Guinness World Record for being the youngest man to visit every country in the world. He also founded Airbnb rival Holiday Swap.
Now the multimillionaire has turned his hand to aviation in the form of Global Airlines.
Having acquired a second-hand A380, previously flown by China Southern, the businessman has started flights from Manchester to New York.
Our travel writer Liv Clarke was among one of the first on board and, as she explains, it was a mixed experience.
Although the food was good, the staff were friendly and check in was easy, she says the 12-year-old plane itself bore plenty of signs of wear and tear.
But the most exciting part was travelling on a 'beast of a plane' - in fact an airbus A380 usually only operated from Manchester by Emirates.
You can read how she got on here.
When reporter Kit Roberts visited Forest Bank to witness rapper Chris Brown being released on bail, they weren't sure what would happen.
But the last thing they expected to see was fans bringing their children to the prison gates to catch a glimpse of the star.
Kit watched as fans livestreamed the event, shouted, cheered and whooped as Brown passed and then followed him to the Lowry Hotel.
Read all about it here.
The wonderful thing about being a news reporter is the variety. One minute you're watching a US rapper being released from prison - the next you're being chased by police dogs.
Hot on the heels of their Chris Brown experience, Kit met an adorable puppy in training to be a police dog and a veteran of the trade.
Kit learnt all about their specialist work and the bond between the dogs and their handlers.
A criminal told police he was avoiding a town centre as it was 'flaming' with police officers. Force chiefs in Stockport say it was a ringing endorsement of their ongoing drive against shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
Chris Slater has been speaking to the officers at the helm of driving crime down in the town.
You can read the details of Operation Rimini here.
Thursday: Light rain changing to overcast by late morning. 19C.
Roads: A572 St Helens Road southbound, Leigh, closed due to roadworks from A578 Twist Lane to Bonnywell Road. Until June 30.
A6 Chapel Street westbound, Salford, closed due to long-term roadworks from A6041 Blackfriars Road to A34 New Bailey Street. Until January 19.
A58 Park Road in both directions closed due to water main work at Westhoughton until May 30.
When Adam Maidment visited Benidorm in search of €1 drinks he was left with a dilemma - how do you pay so little for a beer without feeling like you've just committed daylight robbery?
You can read how he got on supping the cheap drinks (contrary to the advice of Frank the Stag Man) in this entertaining feature here.
