The New York radio station which posted an image of a mother’s anti-gay rejection of kid’s birthday invite, has admitted that it is a hoax.

The image, which was widely shared across Twitter and Facebook, showed a birthday invite from 7 year-old Sophia, a child who had two gay dads. On the invite, an angry mother was said to have responded, “I do not believe in what you do,” and told the gay parents that she does not want her “innocent son” exposed to their “lifestyle.”

Now it has been revealed that the story was a hoax made up by DJ’s on New York’s K-98.3.

In a post to their station blog, DJ’s Steve and Leeana wrote, “On Wednesday, we told you the story of Sophia’s birthday party, and one parent’s objection to the same-sex household of Sophia’s parents. We also posted the invitation on our Facebook page, and invited comments from our followers.

“This story was, in fact, totally fictitious, and created by the two of us. This was done without the knowledge of K-98.3 management or ownership,” they admitted.

“We were attempting to spur a healthy discourse on a highly passionate topic, but we made a mistake by misleading our listeners into thinking that this specific situation actually existed.

“We are very sorry that we perpetuated this falsehood, even after it was clear that it had taken on a ‘life of its own.’ We deeply apologize for violating your trust, and we will work hard to regain that trust.”

The pair tricked various news outlets, including The Huffington Post, who wrote that the mother’s response was “heartbreaking”.