The Heilongjiang Morning Post apologized on Friday for publishing a false story without verifying the facts.

The newspaper published the story Man's online date is daughter-in-law on Thursday, saying that a 57-year-old man in Muleng, Heilongjiang province, asked his online girlfriend out for a date only to find out that she was his own daughter-in-law.

The story became a web hit after it was published.

The newspaper published an apology on Friday, saying that the police of Muleng had confirmed that the story was false and was fabricated by Wei Hongji, a reporter with Muleng Television.

The newspaper said it had asked Wei to help provide photos but did not verify the facts any further.

"We sincerely apologize to readers for having published the report without an in-depth interview," the newspaper said in the apology.