#hoaxes

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New York, 1:27 AM
Wed Feb 10
55 posts in the last 24 hours

#hoaxes

Bill Cosby Has "Ghost Dad" Moment, Claims He Isn't Dead

How do we know Bill Cosby isn't dead? Just because he said so on his website? Either way, someone obviously didn't read our guide to "dead-ing" people using Twitter. Stupid amateurs.

02/06/10

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By Foster Kamer

#hoaxes

Ke$ha Did Not Deface the Hollywood $ign, Biznatches

Oh Ke$ha! The faux-drunken pop star with rotting Jack Daniels-teeth has released a new viral video in which she and her slinky friends change the famous Hollywood sign to say Ke$hawood. And people think it's real! It's clearly not. More »

02/05/10

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By Richard Lawson

#hoaxes

An Iraq Vet, His Dog and an Unraveling War Story

Luis Carlos Montalván returned from the Iraq war and launched a media career — he's attending Columbia's J-School — based on a battle tale that made him a poster boy for PTSD. Now an AP reporter thinks he's a fraud. More »

02/03/10

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By John Cook

#hoaxes

Is This Hippie the Real 'Ellie Light'?

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has blown the lid off the mystery of prolific letter-to-the-editor writer "Ellie Light" : She's Barbara Brooks, a California nurse. Except now Brooks says it's really her husband, Winston Steward (pictured). These people are weird. More »

01/26/10

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By John Cook

#hoaxes

Footage of Eating Pissy Corn Flakes Finally Comes in Handy

"The only thing worse than having to eat a bowl of piss-soaked Corn Flakes is not being able to use the footage."—Vice co-founder and Hipster of the Decade loser Gavin McInnes, via email. Hoax confirmed, allegedly? [Previously]

01/13/10

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By Hamilton Nolan

#heroes

Balloon Dad, a Martyr, Reports to Jail (Now with Mugshot!)

Balloon dad Richard Heene reports to jail today. He's still insisting the whole thing wasn't a hoax. Pitiful. Man up, Richard; you're the greatest sci-fi hoaxer since Orson Welles did War of the Worlds. You're just less popular. [CP] More »

01/11/10

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By Hamilton Nolan

#books

Lessons from the Holocaust Faux-Memoirist's Book Contract, By the Numbers

Herman Rosenblat is the Holocaust survivor whose Oprah-endorsed story of meeting his wife while in a concentration camp turned out to be fake. When his publisher found out, they demanded their advance back. We've got the documents. More »

01/08/10

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By Doree Shafrir

#persona

Andrew W.K. and the Problem of Identity

Andrew WK: he is an actual human, named Andrew Wilkes-Krier. But he is also a piece of performance art whose persona was in part designed by others. This seems to confuse a lot of people! Including Andrew, sorta? More »

01/04/10

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By Pareene

#hoaxes

The Fake Scandals That Global Warming Deniers Are Flogging

The Copenhagen summit has brought the global warming debate to a head, and the skeptics have the upper hand because Al Gore made a math error, scientists wrote mean e-mails, icebergs won't destroy Australia, and it's snowing in Copenhagen. More »

12/15/09

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By John Cook

#hoaxes

Incredibly Wonky Pranksters Pretend Canada Cares About Climate

This morning, an elaborate hoax briefly convinced the world that Canada was going to take the lead on carbon emissions reductions and financial aid to Africa. But... why? More »

12/14/09

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By Pareene

#crime

Balloon Boy's Parents to Plead Guilty to Hoaxing America's Cable News Personalities

Richard and Mayumi Heene, the parents of that cute vomiting boy who did not get lost in the air in a balloon, will plead guilty tomorrow to charges that they concocted the story in order to become famous, which happened. More »

11/12/09

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By John Cook

#sigh

Glenn Beck Warns of Imaginary Fox News Ban

This Glenn Beck tweet links to a blog that has misread a piece of obvious (and terrible) satire, penned by a right-wing talk radio producer. Just like he did last week. They don't even get the unfunny jokes they make themselves!

10/26/09

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By Pareene

#hoaxes

Rush Limbaugh Falls For Non-Hoax

Whoops! Rush Limbaugh accidentally read, on-air, statements attributed to Barack Obama that Barack Obama never wrote. He must be super-embarrassed! Especially after he made a big deal out of people doing that with him last week. More »

10/23/09

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By Pareene

#balloonboy

'Who Would Possibly Do Something Like This? It Has to Be Richard Heene.'

Well look here, it's our friend Robert Thomas—ex-associate of Balloon Dad Richard Heene—all up on the Today Show this morning. Thomas on Heene: "The negatives outweigh the positives." It seems so! Click through for the entire interview. More »

10/20/09

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By Hamilton Nolan

#stunts

The Yes Men Make Chamber of Commerce Look Like (Bigger) Dinosaurs

The Chamber of Commerce held a press conference in DC today to declare that it's ending its longstanding, controversial opposition to climate-change regulations. No it didn't. [UPDATED with fun media clips below!] More »

10/19/09

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By Hamilton Nolan

#assessments

Deflated: Balloon Boy's the Story of Our Ugly, Sorry Era

Richard Heene has spoken out after Sheriff Jim Aldernan's press conference. He's currently "seeking counsel" and got teary as he told the AP that "this thing has become so convoluted." He's pretty on point in that regard. More »

10/18/09

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By Foster Kamer

#breaking

Colorado Sheriff Says We Were Right: Balloon Hoax Was Publicity Stunt For TV Show

At a press conference in Colorado, Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden has come to a conclusion on the case of Richard Heene's Balloon Boy: "It has been determined this was a hoax, a publicity stunt to market a reality show." More »

10/18/09

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By Foster Kamer

#balloonboy

Exclusive: I Helped Richard Heene Plan a Balloon Hoax

For the first time, 25-year-old researcher Robert Thomas reveals to Gawker how earlier this year he and Richard Heene drew up a master plan to generate a massive media controversy using a weather balloon. To get famous, of course. More »

10/17/09

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By Robert Thomas

#balloonboy

Colorado Cops Say Balloon Boy Fiasco Wasn't a Hoax

The local sheriff in Ft. Collins, Colo., is defending the Heene family, saying at a press conference that he doesn't think Richard and Mayumi Heene were faking their emotions during yesterday's ordeal. More »

10/16/09

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By John Cook

#boyintheballoon

With New Home Videos and 911 Audio, World Wonders Whether Balloon Boy Was a Hoax

More evidence emerged this morning that yesterday's Balloon Boy escapade was either a deliberate hoax or the result of galactic idiocy, and local authorities have begun investigating whether it was staged. More »

10/16/09

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By John Cook

#publicitystunts

Rape Tunnel Succeeds in Sparking Conversation, But Not Rape

Yesterday we brought you the ridic story of the purported "Rape Tunnel," where Rape Artist "Richard Whitehurst" would rape anyone daring to crawl through. Alas, it was just another art hoax. Our field trip is canceled. More »

09/29/09

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By Hamilton Nolan

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