Fauxtography

Numerous photographs and videos circulate on the Internet. Some are real. Some are fake. Some are real, but have been given false backstories.

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Does a Photo Show Shortest, Fattest, Tallest Men in Europe in 1919? A picture appears to show "freak show" performers, but specifics behind this photo remain blurry.

Mixture

Is This Real Audio From Mars? The Mars Perseverance Rover will be capable of capturing sound on Mars.

Mixture

Does Photo Show Half-Cleared Road on Texas-Arkansas Border? Keep in mind that a photograph shows a single moment in time.

True

Did the ‘USS Al Gore’ Get Stuck in Ice? The truth about this meme may be inconvenient.

Miscaptioned

Is This Video of a ‘Fireball’ Surging Across a Power Line Real? Big winter storms in February 2021 left many areas without power in the U.S.

True

Does Dashcam Video Show a Handcuffed Man Saving Choking Police Officer? A viral TikTok video asks viewers to put themselves in someone else's shoes.

Unproven

Does This Photo Show a Human-Sized Lion’s Mane Mushroom? It takes a pretty fun-gi to come up with such a tall tale.

Miscaptioned

No, This Is Not a ‘Tsunami Wave’ Headed Toward a Crowded Beach We expected to find the photo was fake, but what we didn't see coming was...

False

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Was ‘Slenderman’ Spotted in ‘How To Train Your Dragon’? Slenderman popped up in some odd places in 2021.

False

Was ‘Slenderman’ Spotted in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’? Beauty and the Beast ... and the supernatural creepypasta character?

False

Is This ‘Skeleton’ Guitar Real? If cartoons have taught us anything, skeletons are traditionally used to make xylophones, not guitars.

Unproven

Did Nickelodeon Cover Trump’s 2nd Impeachment? No senators were slimed in the making of this satire.

Mostly False