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Incredible Fakes/Hoaxes

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Started by Superunknown in Chit-Chat

A friend of mine and me we have this little regional radio show. We always make Top 10 lists for our show and next week, we’d like to present some of the biggest fakes in history ever (and by that I don’t mean bands who have sold out or something like that, but cases of people making the world believe in lies).

Unfortunately, I cannot think of 10, so I came here to see if you people had some incredible stories to tell. Here’s what I’ve got so far:

Clifford Irving: the guy supposedly wrote the authorized biography of Howard Hughes in the early 70’s, but it was all just made up (as shown in the movie “The Hoax).

Stephen Glass: fabricated stories and interviews for “The New Republic” (as depicted in the movie “Shattered Glass”)

Tom Kummer did much the same with celebrity interviews in Germany (as he tells himself in his book “Blow Up”).

The case of Erika Schinegger: an Austrian female skier who easily won the worldcup and other ski races and was later found out to be a man. (not so much a case of “fake”, though. More of a revelation to himself)

Milli Vanilli: well, everybody knows the story.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 11:58

You’re viewing replies 1–30 of 54 by 22 people

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#1

Dennis wrote:

The Hitler Diaries were believed to be real for a while.

Also there is the War of the Worlds radio thing were many (stooopid) Americans actually thought it was a news broadcast..

The fake competition winners on Blue Peter…?

There was also a story last year that the guy who wrote Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini had died, but it turned out that the guy who died was a bullshitter who had been telling everyone for years he had written the hit (and shit) song. I’m not making this up, I swear!

erm

Fake Plastic Trees…?

There’s also been a story in the last week or two of a travel writer who wrote for Lonely Planet guides or some such…who hadn’t even visited the one country he wrote about

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:15

#2

Dennis wrote:

Just for my own sanity so i didn’t think i imagined the itsy bitsy bollocky wollocky thing, here’s a quote from wankypedia:

“In September 2006, the song’s co-writer Paul Vance read his own mistaken obituary. Paul Van Valkenburgh, who had long claimed to have written the song, died and the false information was included in the newspaper. The impostor had explained his lack of royalty payments for the song by further claiming that he’d sold the rights to his alleged composition as a teenager. Vance, the song’s true co-author, has earned several million dollars from the song since 1960, describing it as “a money machine.”“

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:17

#3

butters (mikey) wrote:

i always like the story about orson welles and the war of the worlds. back in 1938 he did a presentation of war of the worlds on the radio but in an original news bulletin format and most of the country went in to a panic thinking that it was all actually happening.
dumb americans…no offence roy

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:24

#4

butters (mikey) wrote:

dammit dennis that was mine

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:25

#5

Dennis wrote:

Oh yeah and there was MP John Stonehouse who faked his own death, Reggie Perrin style, only to be discoveed alive some time later.

He died a few years back, I believe. For real, that is.

Not a name that means a lot to most people these days, but I think it was quite a well-known case in its day.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:25

#6

chr1s (The T.F.M) wrote:

The missing canoeist guy who turned up last year claiming to have “amnesia”

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:26

#7

Muskeg (T.M. O.M) wrote:

Tivium

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:34

#8

Muskeg (T.M. O.M) wrote:

Trivium I mean.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:35

#9

Misanthropologist (d) wrote:

The moon landing.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:36

#10

Dennis wrote:

butters wrote:

dammit dennis that was mine

Sorry mate, great minds think alike and that…?

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:37 in reply to an earlier post

#11

Dennis wrote:

Misanthropologist wrote:

The moon landing.

:D

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:38 in reply to an earlier post

#12

kossu (Petri Koskiniemi) wrote:

Uri Geller the “spoon man” and afterwards this guy used to be Michael Jackson´s personal manger.
I remember from my childhood seeing this guy on finnish TV with his spoons and doing “spaghetti” out of them. Anyone else remember this fellow:)?

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:46

#13

Dennis wrote:

To quote Vic Reeves:

“Later on we’ve got Uri Geller coming on…”

“What..the bender…?”

“I dunno…is he?!”

Yes I remember Mr I Can Make Your Watch Start Working Again. Couldn’t really do much that the guys at Timpsons or Mr Minit can’t do…

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:52

#14

chr1s (The T.F.M) wrote:

What about the guy in the early 80’s days of “Kung Fu” (can’t remember his name), who claimed he could turn pages of a book using just his mind. He was on TVAM and stuff showing off his “powers”, which he later revealed was just from him silently and powerfully expelling a breath of air!! :)

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 12:56

#15

kossu (Petri Koskiniemi) wrote:

I didn´t remember the watch thing at all! Thanks Dennis for reminding me! those damn spoons have been tattooed on my mind for the reast of my life:-)

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 13:00 in reply to an earlier post

Last edited by Teethgrinder on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 13:02 (Corrected use of quotes)

#16

Superunknown wrote:

kossu wrote:

Uri Geller the “spoon man” and afterwards this guy used to be Michael Jackson´s personal manger.
I remember from my childhood seeing this guy on finnish TV with his spoons and doing “spaghetti” out of them. Anyone else remember this fellow:)?

The same guy has a popular TV show on German television right now, which is called: “Looking for the next Uri Gellar”. These are bullshit times.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 14:16 in reply to an earlier post

#17

allroy wrote:

Potemkin villages in general (see wikipedia) and Chinese Democracy, of course in both music and politics.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 15:10

#18

RoyBatty (Steve) wrote:

butters wrote:

dumb americans…no offence roy

None taken. I’ve got a Masters Degree in Reverse Xenophobia. ;-) But seriously, this was the ‘30’s, and Americans pretty much got all their live info from the radio. Also, once Welles found out that listeners thought it was real, he purposely stopped airing the disclaimer telling the audience it was all fake. All in all, though, I agree, a pretty funny instance of collective hysteria.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 17:00 in reply to an earlier post

#19

zipless wrote:

Ronald Reagan once declared “We start bombing Russia in 5 minutes” (or similar) not knowing that the he or the mic was already on air. Can’t remember date or circumstances.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 17:19

#20

butters (mikey) wrote:

i dont know if this one actually would count…but there was an episode if brass eye and when it cut to an ad break there was a spoof live news bulletin about noel edmonds going mental in his mansion, having shot clive anderson with a machine gun and so on.
when it was first aired i was 15 at the time and just about gullible enough to believe it was actually happening…for about 5 mins

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 17:56

#21

mr self destruct wrote:

The Turin Shroud

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 18:06

#22

mrs h wrote:

Joan Rivers’ face.

Corn circles. Or that thing where aliens were supposed to have deposited a cow in a hayloft. Although i don’t think anyone ever disproved that because it was physically impossible for it to have been got or put up there :S

The spaghetti trees! On April Fools Day years ago they put an item on BBC news about the Italian spaghetti harvest, it was genius. I think it was about 1975 or 6. I’m showing my age, aren’t I? … :$

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 18:28

#23

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

1957 :p

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 20:45

#24

Sabotage wrote:

The Jack the Ripper diary http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Maybrick is thought to be a load of old tosh.

Posted on Fri, 25 April 2008 at 23:08

#25

Erik Schepers (Erik Schepers) wrote:

What about Jordan’s boobs?

Posted on Sat, 26 April 2008 at 00:42

#26

Muskeg (T.M. O.M) wrote:

Geri Halliwell

Posted on Sat, 26 April 2008 at 01:31

#27

Misanthropologist (d) wrote:

hoochalobster wrote:

1957 :p

No, I’m pretty sure that 1957 actually happened, whatever you may have heard.

Posted on Sat, 26 April 2008 at 02:46 in reply to an earlier post

#28

allroy wrote:

Exactly, it’s 10,000 BC that never happened (according to the Holy Bible)

Posted on Sat, 26 April 2008 at 06:16

#29

mrs h wrote:

1957? :eek: - I must have seen a repeat. It’s hard to tell when you only have a black and white telly :(

@ Superunknown - I think out of respect to Humphrey Lyttelton you should put the game ‘Mornington Crescent’ in your list. That’s been running for years and there are still people that think it’s real! (Sorry to break it to you Hooch! :p)

Posted on Sat, 26 April 2008 at 06:56

#30

hoochalobster (Sarah) Super Moderator wrote:

Charing Cross :p

Posted on Sat, 26 April 2008 at 10:27

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