hoax

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Hackers to Blame for Britney's 'Death'

Bob Dylan's 'Rest in peace @britneyspears' tweet was probably a hack job, too

(Newser) - As the world continued to mourn the death of pop singer George Michael , Britney Spears' fans also felt their hearts stop Monday morning due to a series of tweets sent out from Sony's Music Global account. "RIP @britneyspears," read the first tweet, per TMZ (which has screenshots...

His Epic Sail Was a Hoax, and It Cost Him His Life
His Epic Sail Was a Hoax,
and It Cost Him His Life
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Dec 4, 2016 11:50 AM CST

His Epic Sail Was a Hoax, and It Cost Him His Life

The sad tale of Donald Crowhurst's trip 'around the world'

(Newser) - In 1968, 36-year-old Donald Crowhurst set off from England to sail around the world as part of a competition. Crowhurst had his hopes set on using the resulting prize money to save his failing business, but he really had no business being in the race given that neither he nor...

He Wrote a Gibberish Paper via Autocomplete, Found Success

Looks like anyone can be a nuclear physicist

(Newser) - When New Zealand professor Christoph Bartneck received an invitation to submit a paper to the International Conference on Atomic and Nuclear Physics in the US, he was skeptical given he has "practically no knowledge" of nuclear physics. So he decided to use his iPhone's iOS autocomplete function to...

Writer Successfully Fakes National Food Holiday

And it was shockingly easy, too

(Newser) - Last Tuesday was National Cuban Sandwich Day. Celebrations were planned from Florida to South Korea, and it even had its own hashtag. But it's OK if you didn't know about it; it was made up on a whim by a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. "Anyone...

Writing Fake News About Justin Trudeau Is Very Profitable

2 Canadian teens are cashing in on Internet's apparent thirst for satire about PM

(Newser) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is hot stuff . At least, that's what two teens in Canada who'd been looking for ways to make quick money building websites concluded after they started the satire site Hot Global News ."This is where it’s at: Justin Trudeau," Yaman...

Study Names Man Behind One of Great Scientific Hoaxes

Charles Dawson was apparently the sole perpetrator behind Piltdown Man

(Newser) - In 1912, an ambitious lawyer named Charles Dawson discovered a fossilized skeleton with the skull of a man but the jaws of an ape in a British gravel pit, the Telegraph reports. For the next three decades, Eoanthropus dawsoni—better known as Piltdown Man, named for the location it was...

Coast Guard Hunts Hoaxer Who Cost It $500K

Unamused after 28 mayday hoaxes

(Newser) - The US Coast Guard says it's looking for a man who has cost the service about $500,000 after responding to nearly 30 of his fake distress calls, reports the AP . In a press release published Friday, the Coast Guard says the 28 calls have originated from around the...

That Crazy Viral Video You Saw Was Actually Made by This Firm

Australian company says part of project was publicly funded

(Newser) - The numbers are remarkable, as tallied by the Guardian : Eight viral videos published to YouTube over the past couple years were seen in 180 countries more than 205 million times, totaling 164 years of viewing time on YouTube alone and amassing half a million comments and almost 2 million likes....

Bomb Threats Reported at Schools in 18 States

Robocalls believed to be 'swatting' hoaxes

(Newser) - Schools across the nation were hit by a wave of robocall bomb threats Monday, closing buildings and forcing the evacuation of thousands of students, USA Today reports. Elementary, middle, and high schools in at least 18 states were targeted, and security expert Ken Trump says the automated calls seem to...

Pastor Who Sued Whole Foods Over Cake Admits Hoax

Pastor Jordan Brown alleged an employee wrote a gay slur in icing

(Newser) - The Texas pastor who sued an Austin Whole Foods over an "extremely offensive and humiliating" cake now admits the grocery story "did nothing wrong." Pastor Jordan Brown alleged a homophobic slur was written on his cake in icing beneath the words he had requested—"Love Wins....

This Is the Hoaxer Behind Fake Uber Lawsuit

It's Jonathan Lee Riches, again

(Newser) - When a bizarre lawsuit supposedly filed by accused Kalamazoo shooter Jason Dalton made headlines this week, police pretty quickly declared it a hoax . After all, it came from Philadelphia, and Dalton is jailed in Michigan. So if it wasn't Dalton, then who impersonated him? The Smoking Gun has the...

Yale Grad Students Debunk 1951 Dinner-Party Legend

A hoax of mammoth proportions is revealed

(Newser) - The Explorers Club Annual Dinner in New York—now going on its 112th year —has long treated its guests to exotic food items, including in more recent years deep-fried tarantulas, goat eyeball martinis, and the barbecued sex organs of bulls, reports the Atlantic . But the most famous meal of...

Cops Follow Only Lead in School Threats

US man's email service subpoenaed

(Newser) - The search for the hoaxster behind the bomb threats that shut down schools in Los Angeles for a day has led investigators to an email service run by a Maine man—and he can't tell them much. Vincent Canfield, a 21-year-old who moved from Maine to Bucharest, Romania last...

Congressman: LA School Terror Threat Was a Hoax

The threat sent nearly 700K students home for the day

(Newser) - The emailed threat that closed hundreds of schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday is now being called a hoax, the Los Angeles Times reports. "The preliminary assessment is that it was a hoax or something designed to disrupt school districts in large cities," Rep....

Cop Accused of Bomb, Shootout Hoaxes Found Dead

Massachusetts officer believed to have died by suicide

(Newser) - A sad end to a strange story: Bryan Johnson, a former police officer accused of calling in a bomb threat and faking a shootout earlier this year, was found dead in his Millis, Mass., home Thanksgiving morning—and authorities believe he died by his own hand, USA Today reports. The...

Memorable Facebook Name Isn't Real After All

Australian man reveals 'Phuc Dat Bich' was a hoax

(Newser) - As the Sydney Morning Herald puts it, Phuc Dat Bich "faked dat" name. The 23-year-old Australian who convinced the world that his awkward-sounding name had resulted in Facebook shutting down his account now says the whole thing was a hoax. He apparently spilled the beans after SBS News contacted...

That Facebook Privacy Post Is Baloney

2 posts spreading about privacy are hoaxes, says network

(Newser) - If you happen to see a legal-sounding post being shared across Facebook, steer clear. The post is just the latest hoax that began spreading on the social network on Monday, warning that unless users re-post the statement, Facebook will have access to their personal data and photos without their permission....

'Elaborate Hoax' Alleged in NHL Star's Rape Case

DA says mysterious evidence bag was planted by accuser's mother

(Newser) - There's been another shocking revelation in what has already been a twisty week for the alleged rape case against hockey star Patrick Kane. Just two days after it was reported that the evidence bag that apparently once contained the alleged victim's rape kit was found open and abandoned...

Couple Takes On Cops Who Called Kidnapping a Hoax

Police allegedly told victim's attorney to watch Gone Girl

(Newser) - The California couple whose assault and kidnapping was publicly labeled a hoax by police filed a legal claim against the city of Vallejo and three police officers today alleging they "waged a vicious and shocking attack on two victims of a terrifying home invasion, kidnapping, and rape," NBC...

Sorry, Elton, Putin Didn't Invite You to Gay Parade

Phone call between singer, Russian president was a prank

(Newser) - "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" will probably be set to "Repeat" on Elton John's playlist after he gets word he won't be going to Moscow at Vladimir Putin's invite after all. The singer has publicly said in the past he wants to engage...

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