Gawker
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gawker never forgets
Surprise! Mancow Wasn't Telling the Truth When He Blamed Cops for His Waterboarding Hoax
One of the strangest explanations Chicago shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller gave for why his publicist had called his waterboarding "a hoax" was that he risked arrest if she said otherwise. For real? Like Mancow's original stunt, that's a fabrication. More »
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By John CookComment by 7states: Why does Gawker still care about this story? No one else on the planet does. Waterboarding is torture. This stunt,... 4 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Mancow's 'Waterboarding' Was Completely Fake
Last evening our night watchman Cajun Boy reported that Chicago radio talker Erich "Mancow" Muller may have faked his waterboarding for publicity. We talked to both Muller and his waterboarder this morning, and the whole thing is a farce. Muller wasn't waterboarded.
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By John CookComment by Clint Osterholz: I don't really give a shit if this is a hoax or not. Instead, you have an influential conservative radio... 7 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Paula Abdul Thinks She's Huge in Austria
Hah, oh dear. It seems that Paula Abdul, cat-litter-mouthed judge of American Idol singers, was duped by Sacha Baron Cohen's Bruno character in his new film. And she still doesn't know it. More » -
journalists
Jake Tapper Is an April Tool
Hah, one guy got fooled by a lame April Fools' Joke: ABC's senior smugness correspondent Jake Tapper. He even forwarded a hoax story to his colleagues before he caught himself. More »
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By PareeneComment by crooked_teeth: we need more people like Pareene to lambaste every little schmo who has the temerity to not be barry's butt... 8 Responses | Other threads
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april fools' day
Today We Won't Post a Rant On How Lame April Fools' Day Is
Haha PUNK'D! Happy Day When Everyone Thinks They're Fucking Hilarious, guys! Let's all have a chuckle at the "hoaxes" and "pranks" and depressing stabs at heavy-handed jocularity that make up April Fools' Day.
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By PareeneComment by friend_of_a_friend: So Jezebel turning off the comments isn't a prank? 34 Responses | Other threads
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updates
Vapid Fauxcialites Victim of Vapid Feud?
It's New York City's most vacuous feud, maybe! Chuckleworthy fauxcialites Adrien Field and Alexandra Alexis deny they placed a "ridiculously bombastic" internship ad. Is a rival self-worshiping socialgay out to get them [UPDATED]? More »
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Comment by billyc: Adrian Feld, no matter what else, is a fantastic kisser. 7 Responses | Other threads
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wtf
Roving Gangsters Out to Kill Twilight Fans, People Actually Believe
Tweens across America are preparing to go stand out in front of their local Wal-Mart at midnight tomorrow so they can buy the Twilight DVD. Unless they are murdered in a gruesome gang initiation: More »
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Comment by Richard Lawson: Incidentally, Wal-Mart sells knives, bathtubs, and big bags of ice, right? And anatomy books? Do they sell those? 9 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Who Got Punked By Bruno?
Comedian Sascha Baron Cohen's outrageous gay Austrian character Bruno recently made his own movie, in which he makes fun of the fashion industry. Curious about who got got? Fashion Week Daily has the answers. More » -
hoaxes
Finally, Someone Claims Responsibility For Joaquin Phoenix's Terrible Hoaxing
There is a man in this photo with Joaquin Phoenix. Learn his face, for he may be the dark wizard conjurer behind Phoenix's career transformation into a trainwreck. More » -
crackpot theories
Joaquin Phoenix Is Both Deeply Disturbed and Faking It
His disastrous Letterman interview brought Joaquin Phoenix's whole quitting-acting-to-become-a-bearded-rapper shtick to a dizzying climax last night. Dave played it off as legit. Others think it's all an Andy Kaufman-esque hoax. We think it's both!
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hoaxes
Joaquin Phoenix's Director Recalls His Screamy, Charcoal-Eating Commitment
If you had any doubts that Joaquin Phoenix will push his hoaxy rapper persona into the depths of career ignominy, let his Two Lovers director fill you in on his insane level of commitment. More » -
hoaxes
Michael Cera Now Reveling In His Newfound, Made-Up Villainy
Tired of Christian Bale spoofs and Michael Cera's obstinate reluctance to sign on to the Arrested Development movie? Have we got a video for you! More » -
hoaxes
Joaquin Phoenix Struggles To Keep Straight Face While Debunking Hoax Rumors
Like a weird uncle who gives his adult nephew a present that reads "From Santa," Joaquin Phoenix is still struggling to prop up a hoax-y music career that's way past its sell-by date. More » -
hoaxes
Joaquin Phoenix's Hoax Denial Doesn't Actually Deny Anything
Now that everyone has finally called bullshit on Joaquin Phoenix, his rep has issued a denial of the rumor/CLEAR TRUE FACT that his music career is just a hoax. However, precious little is really denied: More » -
hoaxes
Joaquin Phoenix's Recent Craziness Is Really Performance Art
Our left coast cousin has been calling bullshit on this for months, and now Entertainment Weekly seems to agree with them: Joaquin Phoenix's supposed rap career is a total hoax. More »
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Comment by KentuckyBabe: If you want to see some brilliant acting from him. Check out "Parenthood" the scene when he is on the... 7 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Other Publications Starting To Call Bullshit On Joaquin Phoenix
We hope we've adequately prepared you for this shock: Joaquin Phoenix's rap career may be an elaborate hoax. Yes, we've pointed this out before, but now, two sources are confirming the stunt to Entertainment Weekly: More » -
hoaxes
Joaquin Phoenix's Rap Career Demands Punctuality, Crotch-Baring
We may never know whether Joaquin Phoenix donned oven mitts and rocked the Queer Lounge at Sundance, but today, we know far more about his disastrous "performance" in Las Vegas than we ever wanted to. More » -
sundance
Did A Disguised Joaquin Phoenix Crash This Gay Sundance Party?
Many of you have wondered if the eccentric douchebag featured recently in our Sundance quotes roundup was none other than newly minted faux-idiot Joaquin Phoenix. Let's examine the evidence! More » -
hoaxes
Didn't We Call Bullshit On Joaquin Phoenix Already?
...Because he's still going through with this pretend "quitting acting to become a rap star" chicanery. In fact, THR has broken more news about this supposed life trajectory that we are simply refusing to believe: More » -
hoaxes
Oprah Deigns to Acknowledge Herman Rosenblat Hoax
Infallible God that she is, Oprah never makes a mistake. No, what happens is that people make mistakes near her and then her gravitational pull forces them close to her. Like Herman Rosenblat's lying! More »
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Comment by Private Hangnail: My problem with the story wasn't the lies or Oprah but rather the choice of food that was lobbed over... 5 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Famous Fake Pundit Gets Real Book Deal
Martin Eistenstadt, that fake pundit/McCain adviser who supposedly started the whole "Sarah Palin didn't know Africa's a continent" thing, has gotten a real life book deal. More » -
books
Maybe-Fake Holocaust Memoirist to Break Oprah's Heart
Uh-oh: Oprah fell in love with another memoirist, and we all know what happened last time. Herman Rosenblat has twice been on her show for his touching story of the Holocaust and long-lost love. More »
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By SheilaComment by caligulash: Don't forget another Opra hero: the Professional Holocaust Survivor and fake memoirist extraordinaire, Elie Wiesel (the post 1997 June war... 7 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Times Prints Hoax Anti-Kennedy Email From Famous Frog
The mayor of Paris actually doesn't care if Caroline Kennedy becomes a Senator, the Times has been forced to reveal. Also if you email them with a famous name they'll just print it. More » -
debunking
Twilight Star Impersonated On Facebook
Sorry fans of a rakish and sexually conquering Robert Pattinson. Those Facebook messages in which the swoony, lean Twilight hunk talks about bedding his costar Kristen Stewart aren't from Pattinson. Well, they are real Facebook messages, but they're not Rob's. Ben Coles, who initiated the conversation about the young Stewart, called us up and told us that while he thought he was corresponding with Pattinson at the time, he's since learned he was the victim of some chicanery perpetrated by the person known on Facebook as Randle Patrick McMurphy: More »
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Comment by noxiousbeast: So Pattison is cool with his friend trying to oust what friend believed to be legit info on a gossip... 1 Responses | Other threads
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things we actually like
Why We're Obsessed With This Fake Rockefeller
Forget cover girl Tina Fey and her scary scar story. The most interesting tale in this month's Vanity Fair is that of Christian Gerhartsreiter aka Christopher Chichester aka Christopher Crowe aka Clark Rockefeller. He's the mystery fellow who was arrested this summer after kidnapping his daughter, Snooks, whom he lost custody of during his messy divorce. Though he's a nefarious conman, he's also a brilliant one, with a fascinating story, as detailed by VF's Mark Seal. And we're kind of obsessed with it. It's a crazy, crazy thing. More »
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Comment by ElvisWorley: Yea, but who plays him in the soon to be indie smash hit? 17 Responses | Other threads
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barack obama
Calling Bullshit On The Obama Ring Story
President-elect Obama—allegedly a 'man of the people'—is allegedly buying a fancy $30,000 ring for his fancy wife, allegedly! It was in the trusty Daily Mail, and now it's the top story on Drudge, meaning it is the single most important news story in all the world. Elitist Obama drops 30K on bling for his wife during a recession—and this bling will be made out of rhodium, the world's most expensive metal! This story is almost certainly bullshit, and we will tell you exactly why. [Updates below—we were right]:
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Comment by scroll_lock: Black gold and encrusted with diamonds? Is this from the Hulk Hogan line of tastefully understated jewels? 10 Responses | Other threads
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questions
Why Aren't There Any Good Hoaxes Anymore?
It used to be that you could pull a really good hoax on people and it would take a long time to be figured out (if it was figured out at all!) And then everyone would have a good story and maybe be a little embarrassed, but not for too long. You know, like those great old stories about people like Clifford Irving faking a Howard Hughes book and Alan Conway who passed himself off as Stanley Kubrick for a while. I guess people were less cynical back then, and weren't always terrified of getting duped. "Trusting," I guess is the word. Well, not anymore. Everything gets figured out so quickly! Is it the quality of the hoaxes, or the cynicism of the hoaxed? Well, probably both. Take a look at some recent examples: More »
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Comment by CodePink: Once I said that I was Jesus but I wasn't and everyone believed me! It was a good hoax I... 22 Responses | Other threads
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Martin Eisenstadt
David Shuster Ignores Our 'Martin Eisenstadt' Hoax Warnings
David Shuster, we tried to warn you. "Martin Eisenstadt" is no adviser to John McCain, our own Alex Pareene reported Nov. 4, but rather a talented comedian. Mother Jones did likewise. And yet! On Monday, nearly six days after that warning, you had to go and identify Eisenstadt on MSNBC as a "McCain policy adviser" who spread word that McCain running mate Sarah Palin didn't know Africa was a continent. The Times did a big expose, revealing that Eisenstadt is really Eitan Gorlin, who perpetuated the hoax with fellow filmmaker Dan Mirvish. MSNBC retracted the story, and we're left to examine your track record: More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Orangeena: The blog wasn't the original source of the rumor. Both Carl Cameron (who I know is sketchy) and Kelly O'Donnell... 2 Responses | Other threads
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calling bullshit
Joe the Plumber Didn't Hook Up With Kristen Wiig
Back in September of 2007, a series of amusing "Rudy Giliani ads" were released to YouTube by a mysterious user named "abrad2345." One of them is attached. A year later, we were pointed to a blog and video series called "The Last Republican" by a "McCain advisor" named Martin Eisenstadt. Martin Eisenstadt is a gifted, funny satirist. Sorry for messing up your game, Martin, 'cause we like you, but the election's done, you've had your fun. And hey everyone else on the internet—the story of Joe the Plumber attending the SNL afterparty and hooking up with Kristen Wiig? It is bullshit. Or "a joke." You're welcome. Now go watch his videos, they're pretty funny. -
cloris leachman
ABC's New 'Unleached' to Prolong the Saucy Senior Magic of Cloris Leachman
Digging around our Otherwordly TV Programming inbox this afternoon, we found just the bit of ephemera we'd been praying for: a spot teasing ABC's Unleached, featuring our experimental dance/comedy idol Cloris Leachman's finest outtakes from her abortive journey on Dancing With the Stars. It's all here — the sassy interviews, the heroic training regimens, her heaving bosom, and pretty much everything else preceding her pyrrhic-victory lap on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Alas, when contacted for additional information, an ABC could confirm only that we'd been duped by creative gag-reel editors from the inside. Cruel, and cruelly unfair at that; we'd watch three seasons of Unleached before watching another hour of CBS's entire fall line-up. Are we wrong? [YouTube] -
hoaxes
Ol' B-Face Sent to Have Sanity Carved Into Brain
Ashley Todd is the moronic young college Republican who thought it would be a fantastic idea to, while volunteering for the McCain campaign in Pittsburgh, stage her mugging and facial mutilation by a large black Obama supporter. She drew a B on her face, backwards, because she did it in the mirror, and the rest is history. She is an American Hero. Paraded before the press in handcuffs, a faint B still visible on her face, we all knew no jail could hold Ol' B-Face. And we were right! Todd has been released from jail and will be "required to undergo mental health treatment." Then her record will be expunged, so she can still act as campaign manager for Bristol Palin's historic 2036 presidential campaign.
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By PareeneComment by ElvisWorley: Bitch should want to go to jail; cheaper than fat camp. 18 Responses | Other threads
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the flash
Fake 'Flash' Teaser Ruins New Comic Franchise Before it Begins
Dear Flash Fans: We heard Warner Bros. and DC Comics are preparing your favorite comic book for a live-action adaptation to be released in 2010. Congratulations! Until then, why not leave the filmmaking to the professionals and quit trying to set off the Web with dorm-room exercises masquerading as official teasers? Your mastery of Windows MovieMaker is impressive, but seriously, enough. This goes for you and you in particular, but maybe not so much you, with your adorable "HEROE" [sic] typo and TV outtakes. Thanks! xo, Defamer (PS: On the off chance that Warners/DC actually does have anything to do with this, viral marketing only works when the movie looks good. Demand helps as well. Toodles!) More » -
hoaxes
Ol' "B"-Face Confesses Race-Baiting Attack Fabrication
Pittsburgh's KDKA is confirming that Ashley Todd wholly invented the "mugging" and attack by a black guy who carved a "B" on her face because she supports John McCain story. Christ. The college republicans continue their hot streak! "The investigation is continuing as officials determine what charges will be filed." Poor dumb idiot racist kid. [KDKA]
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By PareeneComment by Moff: WHO THE FUCK MUTILATES THEMSELF IN A HIGHLY VISIBLE PLACE IN THE HOPE THAT IT WILL CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF... 14 Responses | Other threads
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crime
Hate Carve Vic Faces Polygraph
[Update: The hoax has been confirmed.] So poor Ashley Todd, right? She's the woman who says she was mugged in Pittsburgh Wednesday night (the wrong part of the Pittsburgh, with the Italians) by a black man. And the black man became incensed when he saw her McCain bumper sticker, on her car, and he carved a "B" into her cheek. What a terrible story! Oh but the police have re-interviewed Ms. Todd, and now the story is a little bit different, in that the car and bumper sticker part is out. After the jump, the new story of this terrible hate crime, and also, because we are assholes, selections from Ms. Todd's MySpace page! You will not like her very much, we're guessing.
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By PareeneComment by Mediahohoho: You know, not to get all serious and shit, but do you remember how in that communist jackass libtard filmmaker... 13 Responses | Other threads
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greta van susteren
On Fox, Internet Hoax Repeated By Pakistani President
Pakistan's new president, Asif Ali Zardari, had some amazing stories to tell Fox News' Greta Van Susteren Tuesday. He might have even impressed viewers with the one about how his late wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, called President George H.W. Bush in 1988 to complain about the destabilizing influence of Osama bin Laden, with whom Bush was supposedly unfamiliar. But Zardari then shot his credibility to hell by following up with a story about how Lt. Col. Ollie North, ringleader of the Iran-Contra scandal, also warned about bin Laden in the late 1980s, in testimony to the U.S. senate. Very not true! More »
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By Ryan TateComment by Seanibus: I find it strange how much that picture looks like Congressman Charlie Rangel. That would explain, I guess, why when... 2 Responses | Other threads
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hoaxes
Monster In A Hall Of Mirrors
It's been fun while it's lasted, but the monstrous creature that washed up in Montauk, Long Island may have been nothing more than a prop from an independent movie about carnies, and a viral marketing scheme just as everyone initially suspected. There are enough untied loose ends in the hoax storyline to leave open the possibility that the hoax is itself a hoax, meaning the story has now entered a confusing phase where one must carefully sift the professed deceptions from the real deceptions and hard facts from intentional distortions. But one can try. Here's how a hoax would have gone down, according to a theory propagated on a few websites (linked below) over the past few days:
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By Ryan TateComment by chrystaline: Weird. Over at Tetrapod Zoology they seemed pretty convinced (and convinced me) that it was a bloated, decomposing raccoon. [scienceblogs.com] I,... more » | Other threads
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hoaxes
Updates: Bayer Rep Says Baby Ads Are A Hoax
It appears that the two ads we posted yesterday of cute cartoons showing babies being cooked are not in fact real ads for Bayer's new burn cream. The global account director from Bayer's ad agency, JWT, emailed us to say: "We don't know yet who posted them and why but one thing we know for sure is that they were never presented or approved by anyone in Bayer or JWT worldwide... at the very moment its nothing more but artwork with branding. Bayer group received several phone calls today both in US and Europe in regards to those publications and we need to make sure that this will not spread even more." He called the spots a "very bad and nasty joke." We're adding a disclaimer to the original post.
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Comment by HK_Guy: You got punk'd! That said, they were pretty good-looking for hoaxes. But I don't believe, like yourfriendandneighbor, that they... more » | Other threads
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Mark Bulliet
Source: Metro Editor Fired For "Obama Is My Slave" Publicity Stunt Story
A tipster tells us that Mark Bulliet, an editor at NYC's throwaway free morning paper Metro, has been fired. The reason: Bulliet was the editor who oversaw Metro's embarrassing front-page story last Thursday about a girl who was supposedly attacked by four black girls because she was wearing a t-shirt reading "OBAMA IS MY SLAVE." As we told you last week, that story's only source was the crappy designer who had sold the t-shirt, and it's likely the whole thing was a tasteless, racist publicity stunt that Metro fell for. A source tells us that Bulliet had an intern do the story despite its incredibly poor sourcing. We've emailed Metro for a response. If you know more about the fallout, email us. [Previously]
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Comment by chris48b: The Metro is owned by the NY Times. This reflects badly on the parent company's own journalistic standards. more » | Other threads
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project runway
Next Four Eliminations Leaked to the Web
The tumult surrounding Project Runway continues, now with illicit spoilers. The fashion design competition show has been involved in all sorts of hullabaloo ever since the news dropped that the series would be moving from Bravo to Lifetime after the 5th season, which premiered last week. NBC Universal was pissed and threatened to sue. Then came more bad news about Nina Garcia-related woes and a much groaned-about move to Los Angeles. As this new season approached, Bravo seemed to barely acknowledge it—almost as if they were bitterly trying to sabotage the show. And now these spoilers. Some sneaky someone went onto the show's Wikipedia page and added results for the next four challenges, including who gets eliminated. Is it real, is it a hoax? Take a look after the jump at a screenshot of the "Designer Elimination Chart" and judge (heh) for yourself. Update: Most of the chart has been removed from the Wiki page, but we still have the screenshot!
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hoaxes
New York, 9:30 AM
Sat Jul 11
42 posts in the last 24 hours
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