AP FACT CHECK: Man not hurt trying to show off ‘scuba bong’

BOSTON – A story shared on social media that claims a Boston man lost his testicles in an explosion while trying to fill a scuba tank with marijuana smoke is false.

The story shared by the Boston Leader website describes an incident on Sept. 15 in which a 27-year-old man was demonstrating a “scuba bong” for his friends when it exploded.

Boston police spokeswoman Officer Rachel McGuire says no such incidents were reported to them on that day.

An image accompanying the story of the supposed victim being taken into an ambulance by emergency personnel is from a 2010 Boston Globe article about an unrelated incident.

The website IsThatLegit.com shared a story about the same incident taking place in Calgary, Alberta, last year involving a man with a different name and age. But Calgary police Constable Riley Babott tells The Associated Press they’ve had “no such complaints” made to them in the last five years.

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This story is part of an ongoing Associated Press effort to fact-check claims in suspected false news stories.