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The problem with trying to parody the life of Donald Trump is that the truth seems to be stranger than fiction.

Mostly through his own actions, the President of the United States, arguably the most powerful man in the world, has become an international figure of fun.

Only this week, the 71-year-old descended to the level of an adolescent schoolboy by claiming he has a "bigger and more powerful" nuclear button than North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

So when a popular Twitter account @pixelatedboat decided to make the most of Michael Wolff's explosive book about what's really been going on inside the White House, it was perhaps inevitable it would lead to trouble.

"Wow, this extract from Wolff’s book is a shocking insight into Trump’s mind," the tweet exclaimed.

A screenshot of a page then relayed a supposed description of Donald Trump's obsession with 'the Gorilla Channel'.

(Image: Twitter) (Image: Getty)

The President "seemed to be under the impression that a TV channel existed that screened nothing but gorilla-based content, 24 hours a day."

When he couldn't find it on his White House television, aides compiled a "makeshift" channel from gorilla documentaries and set up a transmission tower on the South Lawn.

"On some days he'll watch the gorilla channel for 17 hours straight," an insider supposedly said.

The comical tweet quickly went viral, but a frightening number of people believed it was actually true.

"I read pretty far in before I realized...," wrote one follower.

"I did not realize it was a joke until I read the comments!! We're so far down the rabbit hole, this seemed completely believable. What's happening to us????" added another.

Sadly, even some who should have known better fell into the trap.

Security analyst Eric Garland was among those to excitedly retweet the excerpt.

He later added: "Dammit guys, I got totally punked on the Gorilla Channel thing - but when you've already gotten to "eating KFC in bed," I mean, we're through the looking glass. "

Trump supporter Gavin McInnes said the excerpt was proof the Wolff buck is "full of s***" then deleted the tweet.

A report about the supposed 'excerpt' even appeared on a local radio station and the whole hoax debacle was discussed on MSNBC.

In an effort to stop things getting even further out of control, @pixellatedboat changed his twitter name to "the gorilla channel thing is a joke".

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But by then it had already gone too far and was being used by savvy brand managers who spotted a social media oportunity.

Netflix tweeted: "please stop calling our customer service hotline to ask if we have The Gorilla Channel"

While Vice began streaming their own "Gorilla Channel" live.

Meanwhile, Trump himself continues to give Michael Wolff's book as much publicity as he possible can.

He tweeted: "Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!"