Internet hoax

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Report: Trump's Staffers Drop Fake News on His Desk

Politico talks to White House officials who describe unconventional 'free flow' of ideas

(Newser) - Politico says there's a "seemingly endless Game of Thrones" taking place inside the West Wing, with aides vying to get information furthering their own agenda in front of President Trump—even if that is an internet hoax, from an iffy source, or "fake news," per...

Writing Fake News About Justin Trudeau Is Very Profitable

2 Canadian teens are cashing in on Internet's apparent thirst for satire about PM

(Newser) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hot stuff . At least, that's what two teens in Canada who'd been looking for ways to make quick money building websites concluded after they started the satire site Hot Global News ."This is where it’s at: Justin Trudeau," Yaman...

Amazingly Elaborate Hoax Targets Megachurch Pastor

Joel Osteen has renounced his faith, online hoax claims

(Newser) - Somebody has put a massive amount of work into a hoax claiming that pastor Joel Osteen has renounced his faith and is resigning from the Texas megachurch his father founded, the Houston Chronicle reports. The hoax includes a fake Twitter feed, a YouTube video from "ChristianityNews" containing mockups of...

Sorry, Internet: Baby-Snatching Eagle Video Is Phony

But more than one source was duped

(Newser) - If you were completely amazed by that video of a golden eagle snatching a baby in a Montreal park, you weren't alone. Unfortunately, you were also fooled. The vid is almost certainly fake, and Gawker has the details on how you can tell:
  • Red flag No 1: The video
...

Inspirational Paraplegic Blogger Is a Hoax

David Rose never existed, despite his online fame

(Newser) - David Rose was a deaf paraplegic with severe cerebral palsy who became an Internet sensation in recent weeks thanks to his inspirational blog posts and tweets (and retweets from the likes of Kim Kardashian). When the 24-year-old died last week—his sister posted the news on his now-defunct DaveonWheels blog—...

Taylor Lautner Gay Cover Fakes Out Net

People says 'exclusive' on actor coming out is just a hoax

(Newser) - A phony People magazine on which Taylor Lautner supposedly comes out of the closet is a fake, but it fooled plenty of people as it spread around the Internet, Gossip Cop reports. "Tired of rumors, the Twilight star opens up about his decision to finally come out,” reads...

Jon Bon Jovi: I'm Not Dead
 Jon Bon Jovi: I'm Not Dead 
Dec 20, 2011 12:02 AM CST

Jon Bon Jovi: I'm Not Dead

Wanted alive: Rocker quashes death rumors

(Newser) - Jon Bon Jovi wants his fans to know that, contrary to rumors sweeping the Internet, he hasn't gone out in a blaze of glory. A news blog printed a fake report of the rocker's death which quickly spread across Facebook and Twitter, E! Online reports. When Bon Jovi...

Woman Pretends to Be 20 People in Cruel Online Hoax

Janna St. James now faces lawsuit

(Newser) - Paula Bonhomme met volunteer firefighter Jesse Jubilee James on an online message board in 2005. Emails and letters led to near-daily phone calls, and in 2006, Bonhomme left her unhappy marriage and planned to move to Colorado to be with James, even though they'd never met face to face....

Hoaxer Convinces Dad His Daughter Died in Tsunami

But Alice Byron is safe, and had evacuated

(Newser) - Ashley Russell found the information on a missing persons website set up for victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami: His daughter, Alice Byron, was dead. But several hours later, the Australian man learned the truth: Byron was alive, and he had been the victim of an online hoax. The...

Tree Octopus Suckers Students
'Tree Octopus' Hoax Shows Kids Believe Anything Online
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Feb 6, 2011 7:28 AM CST

'Tree Octopus' Hoax Shows Kids Believe Anything Online

Students believe everything they read online, warns researcher

(Newser) - Today's students have a worrying habit of believing everything they read on the Internet, according to a researcher who found it easy to trick young people into believing that endangered "tree octopuses" live in the Pacific Northwest. Students directed to a phony website highlighting the creature's plight continued to...

Limbaugh Falls for Wikipedia Hoax

Even though, really, he should know better...

(Newser) - Even though Rush Limbaugh once said, "Everybody in the world knows you don't believe anything on Wikipedia," he managed to get himself fooled by, yep, a Wikipedia hoax. Limbaugh, speaking Tuesday about the judge who is presiding over a challenge to the president's health care reform, called him...

Bill Cosby: I'm Not Dead

 Bill Cosby: 
 I'm Not Dead 



Aug 2, 2010 6:47 PM CDT

Bill Cosby: I'm Not Dead

Twitter tries and fails to take down another celebrity

(Newser) - Bill Cosby is not dead, despite what you might have read on the Internet this afternoon. In fact, the 73-year-old comedy legend is alive, well, and making up words on Twitter, reports WPIX . Using a term he created after a similar false alarm in February, he tweeted today, "Again,...

'Osama bin Laden' Kicked Off Facebook

Fake terrorist leader gave location as 'mountains of the world'

(Newser) - Facebook has shut down a month-old page purporting to be the online presence of Osama bin Laden. "There is no evidence to suggest that the account in question or the other dozens of people who have tried to present themselves as Osama Bin Laden have any relation to the...

Gizmodo, Drudge Fooled by Fake 'TSA Porn'

That's not an image from a body scanner, just a nude model

(Newser) - Gizmodo gets about “30,000 views in a single day” of a post with hot TSA full body scanner pics of an attractive female, Kashmir Hill writes, but it would be wise “to add a ‘this is a hoax’ update” since the photos are obviously fake....

Scam Emails Capitalize on Swine Flu Scare
Scam Emails Capitalize on Swine Flu Scare
h1n1 outbreak
Dec 4, 2009 2:40 PM CST

Scam Emails Capitalize on Swine Flu Scare

Phishing scheme asks targets to register for vaccination

(Newser) - Bogus email alert: Be on the lookout for messages allegedly from the CDC about a "mandatory" swine flu vaccination program. The emails ask recipients to enter personal information in order to get vaccinated, but unlucky registrants get malware instead of medicine. The CDC has confirmed that it is not...

No, Zach Braff Is Not Dead
 No, Zach Braff Is Not Dead 
TWITTER HOAX DEPT.
Oct 12, 2009 7:24 PM CDT

No, Zach Braff Is Not Dead

Publicist denies Twitter-spread 'report' that actor had committed suicide

(Newser) - From the don’t-believe-everything-you-see-on-Twitter department: Actor Zach Braff is in fact not dead, despite a fast-spreading rumor to the contrary. “He’s alive. It’s just another hoax,” an ABC rep says tonight of the Scrubs star, 34. Earlier in the day, Twitter was humming over a link...

Yellowstone Quakes Spark Volcano Fears

(Newser) - The recent rash of earthquakes at Yellowstone National Park has geologists intrigued but unworried; that’s not the case with online doomsayers who think the park's volcano is getting ready to blow, the AP reports. About 900 quakes, most undetectable by humans, hit in the week following Christmas. “Something...

McCain 'Insider' Who Leaked Palin Dirt a Fake

Tale of would-be VP not knowing Africa's a continent fooled media

(Newser) - MSNBC thought it had a scoop: On Monday, it identified "Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser" as the man who claimed Sarah Palin didn't know Africa was a continent. Only trouble? Martin Eisenstadt doesn't exist—he's a character in an elaborate, months-long hoax that has taken in news...

Subway's Jared: Alive, Thank You
Subway's Jared: Alive, Thank You
Jun 27, 2008 9:24 AM CDT

Subway's Jared: Alive, Thank You

Now-svelte sandwich pitchman is the victim of an Internet hoax

(Newser) - Reports of the demise of Subway pitchman Jared are greatly exaggerated, a company rep said yesterday in response to an Internet hoax spread via Twitter posts. "Jared sounded very much alive when I talked to him today," a spokesman told Radar. The fast-spreading rumor claimed Fogle, 30, died...

Woman Indicted in MySpace Suicide Case

Under fake persona, she teased girl who then killed herself

(Newser) - A Missouri woman has been indicted in the case of a teenage girl who killed herself after receiving cruel messages on MySpace, the AP reports. The woman, Lori Drew, is charged with pretending to be a teenage boy on the site and having a helper taunt the 13-year-old victim. Drew...

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