A Web site designed to create fake news stories struck a chord recently with an item suggesting Atlanta Falcons star Michael Vick is gay, prompting the quarterback to call into a morning radio show to put an end to the rumor.

The faux story circulated widely on the Internet, building momentum during the last two weeks of April. It culminated on April 27 when Vick called into Atlanta radio station V-103 to dispel what he says is inaccurate information.

“I won’t even feed into that,” Vick told hosts of the “Frank Ski Morning Show.” “Everybody who knows me, knows how I get down. It’s not even an issue.”

Vick contacted the radio show asking to dispel the rumors created by the Internet hoax and address his fans, said Loren “Hollywood” Henderson, producer of the morning show.

“The hoax had been going on long enough for him to have to call and let us know no, that ain’t the deal,” Henderson said.

The Web site fakeawish.com, which is part of the Internet-based Useless Junk Entertainment Network, allows users to insert a name into a selection of pre-written news stories as a practical joke, which is how an unidentified user started the Vick rumor.

“I love playing professional football and rough physical contact on the field, however, I enjoy male contact off the field as well,” stated the faux story, entitled “Gay Community Welcomes Professional Football Player Michael Vick.”

The spread of the Vick story overwhelmed the Web site’s creator. The president of Useless Junk, identified only as “Hoover,” posted a statement on uselessjunk.com, writing that he “really wants this situation to go away.”

Hoover disabled use of the pro gay athlete template on the Web site, he said in the statement.

“The irony of the situation is that I am a fellow Atlantan and happen to be a huge Falcons fan,” Hoover said.

Other practical joke templates awaiting unsuspecting victims include: “Man arrested while on drugs, wearing women’s clothing, and eating shit!” and “You just won the lotto!”

But each bogus article includes a link to Global Associated news, where “information about source and story details” reveals that the articles are frauds.

When people viewed the Vick posting and circulated it, the piece was sometimes spread without the disclaimer, Hoover said.

“False rumors became grossly exaggerated after plagiarized segments of the fake story were taken out of context and redistributed without permission on Internet sites, forums and via email,” Hoover said in the statement.

Hoover could not be reached for further comment by press time.

Officials with the Atlanta Falcons discussed the item about Vick, but did not assign it any credibility, in part, because the fake story reported that Vick came out as gay during a press conference, said Susan Bass, vice president of communications for the Atlanta Falcons. No such press conference was ever held, she said.

“We all knew it wasn’t true,” Bass said. “We knew that he had not made this announcement or whatever. None of us took it seriously. It’s a template and you can put anyone’s name in there, and unfortunately someone decided to play a joke on Mike and put his name in there.”

The Falcons contacted Hoover, who apologized, Bass said.

“What was interesting is people didn’t take the time to find out it was a hoax,” Bass said. “People didn’t read down that far. That was the issue.”

The widespread circulation of the rumor is a testament to the power of the Internet, said Jim Buzinski, founder and editor of Outsports.com, a Web site devoted to gay sports fans.

Outsports received queries from site visitors wanting to know if Vick is indeed gay, and the “blasé” way that Vick responded didn’t definitively say either way, Buzinski said.

“I don’t know if he is gay or straight,” Buzinski said. “I thought it was cool that his response was ‘I know who I am and I don’t have to explain it to the world.’”

Christopher Seely can be reached at cseely@sovo.com.