12 times the internet fooled the world in 2015

The next time a post becomes viral, lets just remember to view it with a pinch of salt

With countless posts going viral by the day on social media, it’s hard to keep up with what is authentic and what isn’t. Sometimes, even the biggest publishers, including us, get outsmarted.

New Year resolution: Next time a post becomes viral, let’s just remember to view it with a pinch of salt.

Here are the top 12 internet hoaxes that fooled the world this year:

1. The marriage proposal ad

An interesting marriage proposal ad doing the rounds recently on social media managed to not only raise a few eyebrows but also the ire of many.

The ad, seeking a "suitable girl" for marriage, was purportedly put up by the mother of a SSG officer Captain F Rauf. The requirements included a girl with "splashing white complexion" and preferably a doctor, but oddly enough refused to even consider an ex-student of Kenniard College. Further, a girl who wanted to have a separate home, was divorced or wanted to work after marriage was also deemed ineligible to apply.

Many wondered if "poor" Captain Rauf was even aware of his mother's antics, while some pointed out that the ad was fake and the picture belonged to someone else entirely.

PHOTO: TWITTER

2. Terrorist ‘selfie’

In the wake of the Paris attacks, several rumours circulated on social media sites. One of them was of a photoshopped image of a Sikh man -- wearing a suicide vest and holding a copy of the Holy Quran -- who was wrongfully considered to be one of the terrorists who perpetrated the Paris attacks.

To make matters worse, the image was shared on one of the largest, though unofficial, pro-IS channels on Telegram, the same app that the extremist group used to take credit for the Paris attacks.

Veerender Jubbal posted the original selfie with the iPad ending all speculation.

https://twitter.com/GrasswireFacts/status/665633389362282496

Ready: pic.twitter.com/ae9xEej4gS

— Veerender Singh Jubbal (@Veeren_Jubbal) August 4, 2015

3. Inappropriate name

A Vietnamese man posted a screenshot of his passport on Facebook after claiming his account was blocked three times because of his name: ‘Phuc Dat Bitch’.

Turns out, the man only had an inappropriate sense of humour. He came clean and admitted that his viral post was fake.

He said his posts, the first of which dates back to January, had “made a fool out of the media and brought out the best in the people who reached out to me.”



The man's name is correctly pronounced Phoo Da Bic. PHOTO: FACEBOOK



4. Kentucky Fried 'Rat'

It looks like rat but it is, in fact, chicken as confirmed by an independent lab test, according to Huffington Post.

Devorise Dixon posted a photo of the nasty-looking entree to Facebook after he bit into it and something didn't seem right. He said the piece of food had a rubbery texture, and that a store manager told him it was a rat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/31Vh3Rxkfi/

The story gained so much attention that it brought fame not only to Dixon but also the radio show host who interviewed him.

In a tweet, KFC demanded an apology from Dixon for the false allegations.

@THE_SNIPR_EAGLE An independent lab test has confirmed it’s chicken. We expect the customer to apologize and stop making false allegations.

— KFC (@kfc) June 23, 2015

5. Europe’s first female ‘suicide bomber’

In a case of mistaken identity, images of Europe’s first female suicide bomber were found to belong to a woman in Morocco who is very much alive.

PHOTO: MOROCCO WORLD NEWS

The photos, claimed to have been of suicide bomber Hasna Ait Bouchalen who died during the November 17 raid in Saint Denis after the Paris attacks, first appeared on Daily Mail and were then redistributed by many news websites all over the world.

Watch the video here:





6. Leonardo Di Caprio ‘raped by a bear’

News of Leonardo Di Caprio being ‘bear-raped’ in his new movie The Revenant took social media by storm.

[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/TheIndependentOnline/posts/10153259227231636"]

[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/NYPost/posts/10156832495750206"]

So much so, that the film’s studio had to make a statement to dispel the absurd rumour.

[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/beth99799/posts/154580244901439"]

Fox spokesperson says 'there is clearly no rape scene with a bear' in #TheRevenant: https://t.co/vugQh77Zhe pic.twitter.com/LBRF9BDTho

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) December 1, 2015

 

“As anyone who has seen the movie can attest, the bear in the film is a female who attacks Hugh Glass because she feels he might be threatening her cubs,” a Fox spokesperson told Entertainment Weekly. “There is clearly no rape scene with a bear.”

7. Facebook hoax

The 'Facebook' hoax is nothing new and people are still falling for it. A post purportedly by Facebook emerged claiming that you need to post a legal notice or you'll lose copyright control of your pictures and other content you share with your circle of family and friends. Further, it also said Facebook was going to start charging you to keep your profile private.

Here's part of one of the versions floating around:

"Now it's official! It has been published in the media. Facebook has just released the entry price: $5.99 to keep the subscription of your status to be set to 'private.' If you paste this message on your page, it will be offered free (paste not share) if not tomorrow, all your posts can become public. Even the messages that have been deleted or the photos not allowed. After all, it does not cost anything for a simple copy and paste."

Facebook has clarified that it is “free and it always will be”.



8. British Pakistanis ‘cheering’ after Paris attacks

Soon after the Paris attacks, a fake video allegedly showing a large group of Muslim men cheering and waving Pakistani flags outside Tooting Broadway station in south London began to make the rounds on social media.

Turns out, the video was actually of the group celebrating a cricket victory in 2009.

[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/sindhzameen/photos/a.1813024668922798.1073741828.1812956105596321/1932947273597203/?type=3"]

https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/666090271847788546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw



9. ‘UFO’ sighted in California

A missile test off the California coast sparked frenzy on social media and spooked residents who believed they had just seen a UFO.

The Twitter hashtags #Navy, #comet and #UFO were trending as social media users uploaded videos and pictures of the mysterious bright light illuminating the night skies.

Los Angeles #UFO? It was not a #comet. My son saw the Unidentified Flying Object in Hollywood. This is his video. pic.twitter.com/oDQG7XWpro

— Annie Jacobsen (@AnnieJacobsen) November 8, 2015

https://twitter.com/aIexpeace/status/663239824644554753

But just as some began predicting the end of the world, officials moved to clear up the mystery.

“Navy Strategic Systems Programs conducted scheduled Trident II (D5) missile test flight at sea from USS Kentucky, an Ohio Class SSBN, in the Pacific Test Range off the coast of Southern California,” Navy Cmdr Ryan Perry said in a statement to US media.

Best shot of the #Ufo #Meteor in California an hour ago! Did you get to see it? pic.twitter.com/XEVs4Iow85

— Jamie 🐬 (@HiDimensions) November 8, 2015

#Ufo here in california pic.twitter.com/ecb605xwG7

— TruthGPT (@OpenDeMind) November 8, 2015

10. San Bernardino 'killer': Tayyeep Bin Ardogan

Some of America’s largest n news outlets, including The Los Angeles Times and Fox News, were ridiculed online for apparently falling victim to a hoax as they reported that a suspect in the deadly shooting rampage in San Bernardino, California, had been identified as Tayyeep Bin Ardogan, 28, of Qatar.

Is this real? pic.twitter.com/L7NvpIEfi9

— Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) December 3, 2015

A reporter from The Los Angeles Times was forced to retract the claim after Ken Bensinger of Buzzfeed reported that the police had denied releasing it, New York Times reported.

https://twitter.com/kenbensinger/status/672278513076932608

Now, why does the name sound so familiar?

What a Tayyeep bin Ardogan would look like if he was Qatari, me thinks... https://t.co/F1UVnAqHZ0

— Mohamed 🇾🇪🍉 (@arabianofelix) December 3, 2015

https://twitter.com/Veruca72/status/672208353028931584

BREAKING: Hummus Bin Falafel Al-Shawarma , 25, a citizen of Camelstan, identified as latest suspect in #SanBernadino

— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) December 3, 2015

https://twitter.com/roqchams/status/672292677807927297

https://twitter.com/GWillowWilson/status/672290034498727936

11. Fake footage of earthquake

Dramatic earthquake footage and images surfaced on social media, claiming to have been captured in Nepal during the devastating earthquake in the region this year. One such video, which was widely shared on social media, showed violent waves in a swimming pool in a hotel in Kathmandu during the earthquake.



Many publications featured the video, even BBC, although it later clarified that while the footage is real, it is far older and appears to have been be taken during an earthquake in Mexico, in April 2010.

12. Michelle Obama's new ‘hairdo’

News of the First Lady going bald exploded the internet.

Michelle Obama was on @Jeopardy & possibly debuted a new hairdo. What do you think?
RT — hidden ponytail
Fav — shaved pic.twitter.com/hxkRo82bzZ

— The View (@TheView) March 25, 2015

 

Michelle Obama appeared on the game show ‘Jeopardy’ to present a few video clues, sporting a ponytail that, in screengrabs posted to Twitter, made it look as though she’d “gone bald.” The Hill reported that it was just a case of bad camera angles and weird lighting.

PHOTO: THE FRISKY

Ok who just saw Michelle Obama on Jeopardy? When did she cut all her hair off?

— Diane Fanara (@simmering2) March 24, 2015

OMG! Michelle Obama read video clues on Jeopardy with her hair pulled back so tightly I thought she had shaved her head! #baldfirstlady

— kevinburrows (@kevinburrows) March 24, 2015

The new #TheDress. RT if Michelle Obama is bald, fav if her hair is pulled back super tight. pic.twitter.com/q1rDJezgQ5

— meatball ron (@LaCroixPolamalu) March 25, 2015