Claim: Home security, as practiced in Manitoba, Canada.
Reality: Obviously no one would want to approach this home, but the image is actually a composite. The polar bears were cut-and-pasted from an image taken in Hudson Bay, Canada by nature and wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen.
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2003
Claim: Home security, as practiced in Manitoba, Canada.
Reality: Obviously no one would want to approach this home, but the image is actually a composite. The polar bears were cut-and-pasted from an image taken in Hudson Bay, Canada by nature and wildlife photographer Thomas Mangelsen.
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Sep. 2002
Claim: President Bush reads a book upside-down.
Reality: The original version of this photo was taken in the Summer of 2002 while Bush was visiting George Sanchez Charter School in Houston. It shows that Bush was holding the book rightside-up. An unknown hoaxer horizontally and vertically flipped the image on the back of the book to make it appear to be upside-down, for the purpose of political humor.
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Sep. 2002
Claim: President Bush reads a book upside-down.
Reality: The original version of this photo was taken in the Summer of 2002 while Bush was visiting George Sanchez Charter School in Houston. It shows that Bush was holding the book rightside-up. An unknown hoaxer horizontally and vertically flipped the image on the back of the book to make it appear to be upside-down, for the purpose of political humor.
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2002
Claim: Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota uses the wrong hand while repeating the Pledge of Allegiance.
Reality: When this picture first appeared online, Daschle was serving as Democratic Majority leader in the U.S. Senate. A hoaxer created the photo by digitally flipping Daschle's body around along the horizontal axis, reversing his right and left sides — apparently to mock Daschle's intelligence and patriotism. A caption that sometimes accompanied the photo was "Daschle the Patriot (Leftist)."
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2002
Claim: Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota uses the wrong hand while repeating the Pledge of Allegiance.
Reality: When this picture first appeared online, Daschle was serving as Democratic Majority leader in the U.S. Senate. A hoaxer created the photo by digitally flipping Daschle's body around along the horizontal axis, reversing his right and left sides — apparently to mock Daschle's intelligence and patriotism. A caption that sometimes accompanied the photo was "Daschle the Patriot (Leftist)."
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Sep. 2001
Claim: A simple tourist getting himself photographed on the top of the World Trade Center just seconds before the tragedy of 9/11. The camera was found in the rubble.
Reality: This image was shared by millions following 9/11. Two months later, a Hungarian man admitted he was the "Tourist Guy." The photo had been taken during a 1997 vacation. Following 9/11, he pasted the plane into the background, intending the visual gag as dark humor to share with friends.
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Sep. 2001
Claim: A simple tourist getting himself photographed on the top of the World Trade Center just seconds before the tragedy of 9/11. The camera was found in the rubble.
Reality: This image was shared by millions following 9/11. Two months later, a Hungarian man admitted he was the "Tourist Guy." The photo had been taken during a 1997 vacation. Following 9/11, he pasted the plane into the background, intending the visual gag as dark humor to share with friends.
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Aug. 2001
Claim: And you think you're having a bad day at work!! This photo was taken near the South African coast during a military exercise by the British Navy. It was nominated by National Geographic as "THE photo of the year."
Reality: This is a composite image created by an unknown hoaxer who pasted an image of a breaching Great White shark into a picture of a USAF helicopter hovering in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was not named "photo of the year" by National Geographic.
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Aug. 2001
Claim: And you think you're having a bad day at work!! This photo was taken near the South African coast during a military exercise by the British Navy. It was nominated by National Geographic as "THE photo of the year."
Reality: This is a composite image created by an unknown hoaxer who pasted an image of a breaching Great White shark into a picture of a USAF helicopter hovering in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was not named "photo of the year" by National Geographic.
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2001
Claim: This came from a Rig Manager for Global Marine Drilling in Newfoundland. The water was calm and the sun almost directly overhead so the diver was able to click this pic.
Reality: This is a composite image created by photographer Ralph Clevenger. It combines the halves of two separate icebergs — one in Alaska and another in Antarctica. Clevenger never claimed it was an unmanipulated photo. It went viral after someone added the caption about the oil rig diver.
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2001
Claim: This came from a Rig Manager for Global Marine Drilling in Newfoundland. The water was calm and the sun almost directly overhead so the diver was able to click this pic.
Reality: This is a composite image created by photographer Ralph Clevenger. It combines the halves of two separate icebergs — one in Alaska and another in Antarctica. Clevenger never claimed it was an unmanipulated photo. It went viral after someone added the caption about the oil rig diver.
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2000
Claim: 'Snowball' is an 87-pound cat owned by Rodger Degagne of Ottawa, Canada who adopted the cat's mother after finding her abandoned near a Canadian nuclear lab. Snowball was a normal-sized kitten at birth, but just kept growing!
Reality: The cat's real name is Jumper. He was a normal-sized cat owned by Cordell Hauglie who created the digitally enlarged version of Jumper as a joke to share with friends. The image went viral when his friends started sharing the image via email with others.
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2000
Claim: 'Snowball' is an 87-pound cat owned by Rodger Degagne of Ottawa, Canada who adopted the cat's mother after finding her abandoned near a Canadian nuclear lab. Snowball was a normal-sized kitten at birth, but just kept growing!
Reality: The cat's real name is Jumper. He was a normal-sized cat owned by Cordell Hauglie who created the digitally enlarged version of Jumper as a joke to share with friends. The image went viral when his friends started sharing the image via email with others.
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April 1934
Claim: A man flies by means of his own lung power. By blowing into a box strapped to his chest, he makes two rotors revolve, and soars from a runway into the air near Berlin.
Reality: Throughout April 1934, numerous American papers published this photo, not realizing that it had been created as an April Fool's Day hoax by a German news magazine, the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung.
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April 1934
Claim: A man flies by means of his own lung power. By blowing into a box strapped to his chest, he makes two rotors revolve, and soars from a runway into the air near Berlin.
Reality: Throughout April 1934, numerous American papers published this photo, not realizing that it had been created as an April Fool's Day hoax by a German news magazine, the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung.
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Oct. 1933
Claim: Adolf Hitler as a baby.
Reality: This supposed baby photo of Hitler was published in numerous American papers, until finally the German consulate in Chicago complained that it was fake. Five years later, the true identity of the child in the photo was discovered. It was an American kid, John Warren, whose image had been made to look more sinister by means of darkroom doctoring.
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Oct. 1933
Claim: Adolf Hitler as a baby.
Reality: This supposed baby photo of Hitler was published in numerous American papers, until finally the German consulate in Chicago complained that it was fake. Five years later, the true identity of the child in the photo was discovered. It was an American kid, John Warren, whose image had been made to look more sinister by means of darkroom doctoring.
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May 1921
Claim: A german farmer has devised a way of obtaining lard from live pigs. He applies an injection of novocaine to the parts about to be sliced up, cuts out a layer of fat, and sews the skin back up. The operation can be repeated 3 times a year. This is a pig after the operation.
Reality: This photo and story circulated widely in the British and American media. It was reported as real news. However, it originated as an April Fool's Day hoax in the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung.
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May 1921
Claim: A german farmer has devised a way of obtaining lard from live pigs. He applies an injection of novocaine to the parts about to be sliced up, cuts out a layer of fat, and sews the skin back up. The operation can be repeated 3 times a year. This is a pig after the operation.
Reality: This photo and story circulated widely in the British and American media. It was reported as real news. However, it originated as an April Fool's Day hoax in the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung.
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1894
Claim: The biggest potato on record. It was grown by J.B. Swan of Loveland, Colorado and weighs 86 lb 10 oz.
Reality: This picture was the invention of a Colorado editor as a humorous way to help J.B. Swan, a local farmer, advertise his potatoes. The mammoth potato was created by darkroom tricks, not by nature. But numerous newspapers and magazines published it, mistaking it for a photo of a real potato.
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1894
Claim: The biggest potato on record. It was grown by J.B. Swan of Loveland, Colorado and weighs 86 lb 10 oz.
Reality: This picture was the invention of a Colorado editor as a humorous way to help J.B. Swan, a local farmer, advertise his potatoes. The mammoth potato was created by darkroom tricks, not by nature. But numerous newspapers and magazines published it, mistaking it for a photo of a real potato.
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Late 1860s
Claim: The dead President Abraham Lincoln, lying on display in his casket.
Reality: Following the assassination of Lincoln, the Army didn't allow any pictures to be taken of him in his casket. Therefore, con artists stepped in to fill the demand. This image was one of many that circulated purporting to show the dead President, but it was fake. It's really just a man lying down, pretending to be the dead President.
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Late 1860s
Claim: The dead President Abraham Lincoln, lying on display in his casket.
Reality: Following the assassination of Lincoln, the Army didn't allow any pictures to be taken of him in his casket. Therefore, con artists stepped in to fill the demand. This image was one of many that circulated purporting to show the dead President, but it was fake. It's really just a man lying down, pretending to be the dead President.
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