No, Pence doesn't object to being called 'vice' president on religious grounds

You may have seen the Huffington Post link floating around in your Facebook feed: "Mike Pence Opposes Word ‘Vice’ On Religious Grounds, Doesn’t Want To Be Called Vice Presidential Candidate." In an election year that's been anything but orthodox, you might have to stop and wonder, is this really true?

No, friends. No it is not. It's a widely shared satire from IUPUI journalism professor Chris Lamb, published on HuffPo. But it fooled a lot of people.

The satire claims that Pence objected to the word "vice," as in "vice president," because it can also mean wicked or immoral. It tied the completely false comments to Pence's prior refusal to call David Duke "deplorable."

Pence declines to call former KKK leader 'deplorable'

Even in this bizarro election year, the article begins to reveal itself as a gag about two-thirds of the way through, when Lamb has Pence saying that a certain phrase is "in the Republican Bible."

However, the satire fooled so many people, Lamb had to add a preface to his story. "I’ve had a number of readers ask me if this post is 'satire' or 'unfortunate reality,' Lamb wrote. "I’m afraid it’s both. The piece is intended as satire. The fact that so many people have taken it seriously reflects the utter nonsense of the 2016 presidential election, and in particular, the GOP candidates."

A search for the URL of the article on Facebook reveals dozens of people who are taking the article at face value. Several even point out that it's not The Onion, the infamous spoof site that has drawn in many an unwary commenter.

No, it's not The Onion, but it's still not true.

Allison Carter is an engagement producer at IndyStar. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonLCarter.