11 Crazy Internet Hoaxes And Fake Stories You Almost Fell For In 2017

If you're living in a world of Whatsapp forwards, 280-character tweets and 'share if you agree' buttons, there's bound to be a few fake stories and baseless news that'll snake their way to you. What probably makes it worse are the Photoshopped images and altered videos with rigged audios that accompany these stories. It has never been more important than now to filter out the rubbish and do a quick critical analysis of whatever you read online.

Sadly, the 'new normal' is doing just fine without the truth or facts. And our seemingly increasing impatience paired with a growing need to create and furnish shocking stories is adding to the unstable mix.

Also read: 47 Tweets From This Year So Funny You'll Laugh Your Way Straight In To The New Year!

Here are 11 times 2017 almost took us for a fool:

1. Sahar Tabar's dramatic transformation after 50 surgeries

Not 50 surgeries to look like Angelina Jolie, turns out, this one was the result of 'makeup or technology.'

"Hello relatively dear followers, the picture that you¡¯re scrutinising, even though I didn¡¯t like it, I kept it in ¡­ I must say I only had [indeterminate number of] surgery, not 50 surgeries, and foreign sites and channels were very biased in the way they talked about my photos.

I thought these people are probably living in the 18th century and they haven¡¯t seen or heard of technology or makeup and they are really surprised."

2. This photo of India from space on Diwali

Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, starts today. #HappyDiwali to everyone! #VITAmission pic.twitter.com/Uygnc8tTWx

¡ª Paolo Nespoli (@astro_paolo) October 19, 2017

The photo had been taken by Nespoli 20 whole days before Diwali. We can only assume such was not Nespoli's intent, but media and Twitterati lapped this one up.

3. This post on 4chan that claimed to have caught an alien on film

knowyourmeme

This heavily altered image and the accompanying post alleged to have captured an alien outside the Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona. 4chan eventually went dead after Cloudflare servers stopped working. In the following days, users on Reddit and 4chan pointed out how the 'faking' took off in the first place. See the image below:

knowyourmeme

4. ISIS infecting people with AIDS through fake insulin injections

Reuters

This one started with the following message:

"Urgent Urgent!"
"Please reach to catch them quickly if you have people on your door and they say they are from the Faculty of Medicine so that we measure your sugars for free. As soon as you see such lady or man please immidiately inform the police because these are the people from ISIS who go to the houses and r spreading AIDS virus by injections which look like insulin. Please catch such people as soon as they reach you Inform and share this message with all your loved one. (sic)"

This message had a healthy run on social media and Whatsapp. Soon reports started to point out that this was, of course, fake.

Also read: 21 Annoying Questions We Really Need Answers To Before 2017 Ends

5. This photo of the Golden Temple on Diwali

Can't one guess the name of this place celebrating Diwali? pic.twitter.com/tewu9pPf3Z

¡ª MadhuPurnima Kishwar (@madhukishwar) October 21, 2017

We all remember this image that became the talk of the Internet. It turned out to be a heavily photoshopped image, as per sources.

6. Dawood Ibrahim's death from a "massive heart attack"

Reports of Dawood Ibrahim¡¯s ill health first emerged in Pakistani media back in April. Ibrahim was apparently in critical condition taken to Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan after having complained about being unable to breathe properly. While doctors reportedly ruled it a heart attack, Chhota Shakeel, his close aide, took care of the rest by confirming that Dawood Ibrahim was alive and well.

7. GPS chip in new currency notes

Wikipedia

2017 saw India a little on the edge with PM Modi's demonetisation plans taking root. Among so many other things said about the new currency notes, it was even said the new notes came with a GPS tracker. It was much later that RBI clarified that such a feature didn't exist.

8. Baba Ramdev's death following an accident on the Mumbai-Pune highway

All India Roundup

Turns out, an old photo of Ramdev from 2011 - where he's seen on a stretcher following seven days of fasting - was being passed off as one taken after his accident on the Mumbai-Pune highway. It was as fake as they come.

9. The rise of Narendra Modi was predicted by Nostradamus

A man named Fran?ois Gautier alleged that he found previously hidden manuscripts written by Nostradamus that prophesied the rise of Narendra Modi or 'Narendrus' in the 16th century. He didn't stop there; Gautier even hinted at the existence of an old trunk, discovered in 2012, that held the manuscripts on Modi. This story was later deemed fake for lack of any real proof and basis evidence that Gautier had authored a book where he spoke about the trunk.

Also read: 11 Unusual Yet Realistic New Year Resolutions That Will Make 2018 The Best Year Yet

10. Answering a call from 777888999 will cause your phone to explode

Hoax-Slayer

In this case, a WhatsApp forward was taken a bit too seriously after some news sites covered it. According to Smhoaxslayer, the photo being forwarded was two months old. The number 777888999, only nine digits long, did not exist, and since when did phones start exploding just by receiving a call?

11 . Marwari woman being beaten up by a Muslim mob

This particular video was a 2-year-old video of mob lynching from Guatemala that for some reason came to life a second time round, one that allegedly showed a Muslim mob beating up a helpless Marwari woman for refusing to wear a burkha. An investigation by Alt News revealed the real source of the video and exactly how old it was.