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Tech NewsThat Theme Park Ride Going Viral Right Now Is Totally Fake
Have you seen video of that theme park ride that’s been going viral? Not to pop anyone’s balloon, but the video is totally fake. It’s a great computer-generated animation. The video is based on a real ride called the Gyro Drop at the South Korean amusement park Lotte World. But the viral video has been … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThat Viral Video of a Family Fleeing an Avalanche is Totally Fake
Have you seen that viral video of a family watching an avalanche? The dad leaves his wife and kids to die as the avalanche barrels down on them. It’s pretty funny in a twisted way. But the video is totally fake. The video has over 6.53 million views on Twitter as of this morning, but it … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsModern Manufacturing Has Made It Nearly Impossible to Spot a Fake Rolex
At one point in time, it was easy to spot a fake Rolex, as most knock-offs used a non-mechanical Quartz movement inside that resulted in a stuttered ticking movement of the watch’s second hand. But as the experts at Watchfinder & Co. discovered, that’s far from the case today. The best Rolex fakes can be … Continued
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Tech NewsThat ‘Found Cat’ Craigslist Ad Featuring a Bobcat is Totally Fake
Have you seen this Craigslist ad that’s going viral on social media? The headline screams “FOUND CAT – NEED OWNERS ASAP!!” but if you take a closer look at the photos, it clearly shows a bobcat. Scary, right? The only problem? The entire thing is fake. The images were actually taken from a handful of … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsBullshit Viral Videos of Nancy Pelosi Show Fake Content Doesn’t Have to Be a Deepfake
Two videos of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have gone viral over the past 24 hours, raising ethical questions about the use of editing on social media. President Donald Trump even shared one of the videos last night, calling it “PELOSI STAMMERS THROUGH NEWS CONFERENCE.” But only one of the videos is truly “fake” and surprisingly … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsMan Pleads Guilty to Trafficking Fake iPhones in Scheme That Cost Apple Nearly $900,000
A Chinese national and former engineering student in Oregon pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods in a scheme that defrauded Apple out of roughly 1,500 iPhones. According to court records, U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened an investigation in 2017 into a number of shipments of counterfeit iPhones that … Continued
By Catie Keck -
Tech NewsPrivacy & SecurityThe Buried Truth of a Key Detail Used to Defend Julian Assange
Allies of Julian Assange have been using quotes from his accusers to claim that the sexual assault charges against him are fake. One quote that’s been circulating on social media this week even says, “it was the police who fabricated the charges.” What’s the problem? The only source of the quotes is Julian Assange himself. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThat Viral Story About Selfie-Takers on a Thai Beach ‘Facing the Death Penalty’ Is Totally Fake
Recently, you may have seen news stories claiming that tourists could “face the death penalty” for taking selfies on a certain beach in Thailand—which we can all agree is a little bit extreme. Thankfully, those claims are totally fake. This week, a flurry of fear-mongering reports came out warning that taking a photo on Mai Khao … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Amazon Mothership is Terrifying as Hell, Even If It’s Completely Fake
Have you seen that viral video of an Amazon blimp that deploys delivery drones? Twitter users are calling it “borderline dystopian” and “what the last human alive will see.” In reality, the blimp is totally fake, but that doesn’t make it any less scary. There’s still reason to be unnerved by what you’re seeing. The … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsHow Filmmakers Created Fake Newsreels in the 1920s
A horrifying magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit Japan on September 1, 1923, killing over 140,000 people. And while news of the devastation reached newspapers around the world by the next day, there was no way to get film footage from Japan to the United States that quickly. But that didn’t stop filmmakers from making fake films … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
That Viral Video of President Trump ‘Forgetting His Toupee’ Is Totally Fake
Have you seen that viral video doing the rounds of President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago lifting up his hat? According to the caption, the president “forgot” that he’s “not wearing his toupee,” and it’s getting passed around Twitter like crazy today. In reality, the video has been digitally manipulated to make Trump look completely bald. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
7 More Viral Photos That Are Totally Fake
The internet is overflowing with fake images these days, making it hard to know what to believe. But Gizmodo is here to help. Below, we’ve collected seven viral images that you may have seen floating around places like Facebook and Twitter recently. And they’re all fake in one way or another. 1) Is this a … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsTransportationVideo of India’s Fastest Train Zipping by at ‘Lightening Speed’ Actually Just Sped Up
It’s a hell of a time to spread misinformation in India—especially if you’re a member of parliament and a government minister. Indian MP Piyush Goyal, the country’s current railways minister, seems to have a history of sharing misleading information online. And now he’s under fire for promoting sped-up video footage of India’s fastest train in … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsThis Viral Photo of a Homeless Person Freezing on the Street Is Actually From 2013… in Canada
It’s a heartbreaking photo. But it doesn’t show what you think it does. The viral photo, which shows a person sleeping on the sidewalk and covered in snow, has been making the rounds on politically conservative social media this week in an attempt at commentary on immigration. It’s been tweeted by actor James Woods, retweeted … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
President Trump Posts Altered Photos to Facebook and Instagram That Make Him Look Thinner
President Donald Trump’s social media accounts are filled with vile racism, idiotic xenophobia, and inaccurate statistics. And now we can add another category to the list: fake photos. In recent months, Trump’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts have published photos of the president that have been manipulated to make him look thinner. If it only … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
AT&T Barrels Ahead With Its Bullshit Plan to Brand Enhanced 4G as ‘5G E’
Telecom giant AT&T has moved forward with its bullshit plan to rebrand an enhanced version of its existing 4G mobile network as its much faster and still-in-development successor 5G, TechCrunch reported on Monday. After a recent update to some AT&T, the devices now say they are connected to a “5G E” network. To be very … Continued
By Tom McKay -
Reviews18 Viral Photos and Videos From 2018 That Were Totally Fake
It’s that time of year again. It’s time to take a look at the most popular fake photos, quotes, and videos that were circulating on the internet throughout the year. And what a year it was for fakes. This isn’t our first rodeo. We did similar round-ups in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, and have … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsViral Video of Glitter Bomb for Package Thieves Exposed as Partial Fake
Remember that viral video of the former NASA engineer who got sick and tired of people stealing his packages? He built an impressively high-tech glitter bomb to prank the thieves and even lent the sneaky invention to friends so they could do the same. Well, it turns out that some of the video was faked … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Russian State TV Shows Off ‘Robot’ That’s Actually a Man in a Robot Suit
Russian state TV apparently became confused yesterday while airing footage of a technology forum aimed at kids. A TV reporter proclaimed that Boris the robot, seen above, “has already learned to dance and he’s not that bad.” The only problem? Boris isn’t a real robot. It’s just a man in a suit. This “robot” actually … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
That Photo ‘Debunking’ the Paris Protest Fires is Actually Bullshit
Did you see the tweets supposedly “debunking” the huge fires that were burning during the protests in Paris? In reality, the “debunkers” are bullshit. The photos weren’t merely taken from different perspectives—they were taken on completely different days on completely different streets. First take a look at the the bullshit “debunkers” with sarcastic titles like … Continued
By Matt Novak