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Tech NewsPoliticsWhite House Spreads Doctored Video to Justify Temper Tantrum Against CNN Reporter
The White House doesn’t want us to believe what we’re seeing, so they’re showing us things that are unbelievable. On Wednesday, President Trump was in a foul mood and decided to hold an impromptu news conference that lasted nearly 90 minutes. A lot of weird things happened, and Trump was clearly feeling defensive about losing … Continued
By Rhett Jones -
Tech NewsThat Viral Photo of Justin Bieber Eating a Burrito Sideways is Totally Fake
Did you see that photo of Justin Bieber eating a burrito like a corn cob? The photo went viral on Facebook, Twitter, and dozens of news sites. But we’ve got some bad news for you, or good news depending on how you look at it. The photo is totally fake. The viral photo was actually … Continued
By Matt Novak -
ScienceHuman HistoryThe Psychology of Faking Your Own Death
Why would anyone fake their own death? Some seek a departure from royalty, a career as a pirate, or a quiet life after taking down the Third Reich. Usually, they’re chasing an escape from bankruptcy or bad marriages. But for some, it may seem that staging their own death is the only way to feel … Continued
By Janet Burns -
Tech NewsThis Video of a Giant Dick Building Shooting Fireworks Is Too Good to Be Real
It’s all but impossible to keep phallic comparisons out of your head when staring up at a towering skyscraper, but residents of the Guangxi region in southeastern China have a new addition to their skyline that seems unmistakably penis-inspired—and a fake viral video isn’t helping to dissuade opinions. The Guangxi New Media Centre, which was … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Real Story Behind That Viral Video of President Trump Hissing Like a Snake
Have you seen that viral video of President Donald Trump hissing? It’s really weird. But it makes more sense if you see the original video. And after some sleuthing, we finally tracked it down. Here’s the video, which went viral on Twitter today and got picked up by news outlets like Boing Boing. President Trump … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsDonald Trump Jr. Posts Fake Letter to Instagram Mocking Woman Allegedly Assaulted by Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh
Republicans have come up with a lot of excuses for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s alleged attempted rape of a 15-year-old girl when he was 17. Some say it never actually happened. Others say he shouldn’t be held accountable for something he did as a teenager. But still others seem to think that it’s all … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsResearchers Come Out With Yet Another Unnerving, New Deepfake Method
Deepfakes, ultrarealistic fake videos manipulated using machine learning, are getting pretty convincing. And researchers continue to develop new methods to create these types of videos, for better or, more likely, for worse. The most recent method comes from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, who have figured out a way to automatically transfer the “style” of … Continued
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Tech News
This Photo Claiming to be ‘Cassini’s Last Image’ is Totally Fake
Have you seen this photo, supposedly showing the last image captured by the Cassini space probe before it crashed into Saturn’s atmosphere? It’s beautiful. But unfortunately, it’s also totally fake. The image has been doing the rounds over the past few days, racking up tens of thousands of views and retweets on social media. But … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsPresident Trump Accuses NBC News of ‘Fudging’ Famous Interview About Comey Firing
President Trump has made new allegations in a series of tweets this morning that are sure to get his supporters riled up. Trump has seemingly accused NBC News of manipulating an interview that Lester Holt conducted on May 11, 2017, shortly after Trump fired James Comey, former director of the FBI. The same interview where … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsThe Viral Robot Video That’s Freaking Everyone Out Is Totally Fake
Have you seen this video of a very human-looking robot walking up a driveway? It’s gotten a lot of people online freaked out about the coming robot apocalypse. But you can rest easy… for now. This “robot” was created using computer graphics. As in, it’s totally fake. The video was created using the Unity video … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Texas Governor Tweets Fake Churchill Quote About Fascism, Gets Flooded With Equally Made-Up Replies
Have you heard the famous Winston Churchill quote that “the fascists of the future will call themselves anti-fascists”? Well, it’s a fake quote. Churchill never said it. But that didn’t stop Texas Governor Greg Abbott from tweeting the fake quote late last night. And while Abbott is rightly being taken to task, the responses to … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
This Viral Photo Doesn’t Show Maria Butina in an Oval Office Meeting With Trump
On Sunday, 29-year-old Russian national Maria Butina was arrested and charged with being an unregistered agent of the Russian government while trying to influence the 2016 presidential election. Ever since, people online have been combing through old photos of Butina posing with American politicians. But one photo has gotten a lot of attention today. It … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsRussian State TV Photoshops an Awkward Smile on Kim Jong Un’s Face [Updated]
Russia-1 aired a segment yesterday about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. But one part of the news broadcast was pretty weird. Take a look at Kim’s face in the screenshot on the left. Kim has been photoshopped to look like he’s smiling. And it’s not even … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
This Viral Video of Ducks Waiting for a Green Light to Cross the Street Is Totally Fake
Have you seen this video of ducks in Germany waiting for a green light before they cross the street? It’s gone viral, getting tens of thousands of views on Twitter and over 2.5 million views on Facebook. But the video is totally fake. The ducks are computer generated. Don’t believe me? Take a closer look … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Trump and Macron’s Disappearing Tree is Just in Quarantine to be Monitored For Pests
US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron planted a tree at the White House on April 23rd in a friendship ceremony. But the tree quickly went missing, and some people started to wonder if a conspiracy was afoot. But there’s no grand conspiracy. The tree, which was brought from France, is simply in … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Winning Wildlife Photo Disqualified Because of Suspected Fake Anteater
The Natural History Museum of London has disqualified a winning image from its 2017 Photographer of the Year competition on the grounds that the photographer almost certainly used a stuffed anteater—a blatant violation of the contest rules. It was a photograph that looked too good to be true. As we wrote back on October 18, 2017, … Continued
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Tech News
That Viral Photo of Our Big Lumpy President Is Actually Photoshopped
Have you seen this photo of President Donald Trump bursting out of his jacket? The US president is a large man, but he’s not quite that lumpy. The photo has been photoshopped. The original photo, which you can see below, was taken by Tom Brenner for the New York Times. It shows President Trump arriving … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Julian Assange, Notable Edgy 14-Year-Old, Tweets Fake Ricky Gervais Quote in Earnest
Julian Assange likes to boast that WikiLeaks has a “perfect record” of “accurate vetting.” But if Assange’s Twitter account is any indication, Assange can’t even spot a ridiculous parody of “edginess” when he sees it. Rob Rousseau, a freelance writer from Montreal, created some fake Ricky Gervais quotes and posted them to Twitter earlier today. … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech News
Viral Photo of Stephen Hawking at a Vietnam War Protest Is a Lie
Have you seen this photo of Stephen Hawking protesting the Vietnam War in 1968? It’s a powerful image, but it’s not actually Hawking. Gizmodo has confirmed with the National Portrait Gallery in London that it doesn’t actually know who the bespectacled man with canes might be. “The National Portrait Gallery apologizes that a sitter in … Continued
By Matt Novak -
Tech NewsRussian State TV Airs Video Game Clip as Real War Footage
Russian state TV aired a short video clip last night that was supposed to be from the brutal war in Syria. But it was actually from a video game called ARMA 3. And for some reason this seems to be happening again and again and again. The BBC was the first English-language news site to … Continued
By Matt Novak