October 12th, 2016 | Updated on April 8th, 2023
We consumed, believed and distributed a lot of photos, making them viral. Ever since the advent of Photoshop the number of fake viral images has skyrocketed.
Below, a recap of viral images, all in one place for your perusing pleasure.
1. Real pilot selfie
No, this isn’t the world’s greatest selfie. Though it might be if it were real.
2.Hercules, the world’s largest dog
Although the world’s biggest, tallest, and heaviest dogs are certainly worth a google search, this guy is not on the list.
3. 9-11 Tourist
Perhaps one of the most famous hoax photos ever taken! Initially, it was believed that this snap was captured from a camera at Ground Zero but only later did people realize it was a fake.
4. Mystical tree
Claimed to be some sort of mystical tree in Africa it’s actually a fake tree found in Disney World, Florida.
5. Photo from a Soviet mental institution in 1952
This bizarre photo isn’t some supernatural weirdness from a Russian mental institution in 1952. It’s from Pina Bausch’s performance art dance show, Blaubart.
6. Air France flight 447
Allegedly, a photo taken just before Air France flight 447 crashed to the Earth, but,actually, it was just a still from the TV series “Lost”.
7. Purple trees of fairy pools, Scotland
These trees are neither purple nor Scottish. This is actually just a photoshopped picture of Shotover River, New Zealand.
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8. Shark vs Helicopter
It may be obvious to most of you, but you live in a world where some people believed this picture was real.
9. Collapse of shark tank in Kuwait
No, there were no sharks swimming circles around the bottom of an escalator . This, actually, is a photoshopped image of Toronto’s Union Station.
10. “Sad Putin” after Russia lost to Finland in hockey
This photo getting passed around showing a dejected Vladimir Putin after the Russian Olympic hockey team was defeated by Finland 3-1.But the photo isn’t actually from that game. It’s a Getty Images photo that was taken when Russia played Slovakia.
11. Fennec hare
It’s actually a kitten that was posted as an April Fool’s joke.
12. Fetus foot
That would have to be Hercules in the womb for his foot to show through the uterus, muscles, and fat like that.
13. Hurricane Isaac
Retweeted thousands of times, actually, it is a Photoshopped picture of a supercell thunderstorm that seems to pop up with a new foreground every time there is a hurricane threat anywhere.
14. Indian ocean Tsunami
One of many photos that circulated after the tsunami that struck Indian Ocean shorelines in 2004 this was actually a picture of Antofagasta, Chile with waves photoshopped in.
15. Bike on Vashon Island that was abandoned for 100 years
The kids’ bicycle embedded into a tree is a bit of a tourist attraction on Vashon Island, Washington, just outside of Seattle. But it’s not a century old, as so many social media accounts are claiming.
16. Moonmelon
Claiming to be an expensive melon found in Japan, unfortunately there are is no such things a blue melon.
17. Lightning striking a tree
This is a long-exposure light manipulation photo with a lightning bolt photoshopped in.
18. Ella Fitzgerald denied a gig at the Mocambo night club in 1954 because she was black
Fitzgerald was allegedly denied a gig at the Mocambo night club in 1954 because of her race. But this was not the true story. Monroe was a huge fan of Fitzgerald and was able to change the manager’s mind, who didn’t found Fitzgerald “glamorous enough.”
19. Baby polar bear
Seemingly look like a real baby polar bear, but this widely circulated photograph is actually just a stuffed animal you can buy on Etsy.
20. Oil Rig, Water Spout, and Lightning
While the oil rig was added in later, the water spout and lightning part is actually real. It was taken by Fred Smith in Florida on June 15, 1991.
21. Rainbow owl
Claimed to be some sort of rare wonder inhabiting the forests of China and the United States, this is actually an extremely photoshopped picture of a regular barred owl.
22. Statue of Liberty in hurricane Sandy
This is yet another supercell thunderstorm that was superimposed over the Statue of Liberty.
23. The Derbyshire fairy
Intended to be an April Fool’s Day joke Dan Baines of Derbyshire, England made this fiary prop to sell on eBay.
24. Earth, Mercury, and Venus from Mars
This photo was generated from a piece of planetarium software.
25. We built it
Supposedly taken during the republican convention in 2012, the debt clock was actually on the other side of the arena.
Sources: list25.com; gizmodo.com
