American fakes own decapitation

A video aired today that purportedly showed an American being decapitated was a hoax.

The man from San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friend’s house using fake blood.

On the tape, Benjamin Vanderford, 22, sat on a chair in a dark room, his hands behind his back, trembling and rocking back and forth.

The tape showed a hand with a knife cutting at the motionless man’s neck but did not show any militants.

Vanderford said he made the video several months ago and had been circulating it on the internet for some time.

“It was part of a stunt, but no one noticed it up until now,” he said.

“I did this for a couple of reasons. One is to attract attention. But two is to just make a statement on these type of videos and how easily they can be faked.”