30 Viral Photos The Entire Internet Believed Were Real
With more and more people learning how to use various photo editing programs every day, fake photos are becoming increasingly common. And without people checking their sources, those photos quickly go viral.
Bored Panda has compiled a list of fake viral photos that fooled internet users everywhere. From marijuana in space to bears chasing cyclists, some edits are so well made, you’ll have a hard time believing it’s fake even with the real picture right next to it.
Check out the fake viral photos in the gallery below!
h/t: Bored Panda
#1 Behind The Scenes Photo Of MGM Intro
This photo of a lion strapped to a bed to film the MGM intro turns out to be fake – the lion is actually undergoing a CAT scan.
#2 Astronaut Smoking Marijuana In Space
Chris Hadfield has to be one of our favorite Astronauts, informing us about how life is in space by showing how he brushes his teeth and sleeps. Don’t worry – he isn’t up there doing drugs. The giant bag of marijuana was actually a bag full of Easter eggs!
#3 The Mustache Wasn’t Enough, They Had To Add Those Angry Eyebrows
While this lovely kitten’s glorious mustache is real, his angry eyebrows are not.
#4 A Guy Creating An Amazing Fried Rice Wave
The picture of a man next to a giant rice wave has recently gone viral and even sparked some funny memes . It later turned out that it was fake and the rice wave was just a sculpture found in a fake food shop in Tokyo.
#5 A Kid Sleeping Near His Deceased Parents’ Graves In Syria
Although the first picture looks heartbreaking, the photo was actually staged by the photographer.
#6 Not-So-Planned College Name Sign
This one’s a true classic, that has been circulating the internet for many years. Yet, like all of the things in this list, it is nothing more than a clever edit.
#7 Woman Squatting Like A Frog
While the photo on the left is clearly photoshopped, seeing the original doesn’t really make it that better.
#8 Frozen Venice
This viral ‘Frozen Venice’ picture is actually a composite of two pictures: Venice and Lake Baikal frozen during the wintertime.
#9 Magical Castle
This castle on top of a rock looks like something out of a fairy tale but the picture is actually a castle in Germany and a rock in Thailand blended together.
#10 Dangerous Pilot Selfie
As cool as it may look, this viral pilot selfie was safely taken when the plane was parked.
#11 Perfect Lenticular Clouds
Lenticular clouds are already pretty cool by themselves – we guess the author thought that adding more would make them even cooler?
#12 Unique Black Lion
While a black lion would look totally badass, we sadly have to say that it’s only the result of some clever editing.
#13 #10yearschallenge Against Deforestation
The #10yearchallenge hashtag recently went viral and with it did this fake photo. Although deforestation is still an important problem, this picture was actually created from the same photo.
#14 Moon Perfectly Fitting On A Skyscraper
To make this photo taken by Mo Aoun more interesting, someone decided to move the moon.
#15 Bear Chasing A Cycler
While being chased by a bear might be great motivation to cycle faster, the photo did not originally feature the cyclist.
#16 Picture Of A Dwarf Giraffe
Sadly, this picture of a small chubby giraffe proved to be fake too.
#17 A Photo Of Marilyn Monroe And Elizabeth Taylor
It might look like an iconic photo of two legendary celebrities together but, unfortunately, Elizabeth Taylor was added in Photoshop.
#18 Giant Skeleton Found
We hate to break it to you, but archaeologists did not actually uncover the remains of a giant.
#19 Bear Chasing National Geographic Photographers
This photo of a group of National Geographic photographers being chased by a wild bear is photoshopped too. And if you think the bear looks kind of familiar, that’s because it’s a rather popular stock photo.
#20 First Dab In The History
Thankfully, this dabbing soldier did not actually go to war – the photo is actually a behind-the-scenes picture from the movie Dunkirk, shot in 2017.
#21 Viral Photo Of A Pooping Cheerleader
#22 An Island That Looks Like A Star
This island might look like the flag of Turkey, but sadly the star in the middle is fake. It is actually the Molokini island, located between the islands of Maui and Kahoolawein Hawaii.
#23 Paris Hilton’s Offensive T-Shirt
Even though the original does not make it that much better, the photo on the left is fake.
#24 Turtle Mountain
As cool as it may look, the ‘Turtle Mountain’ is fake – it’s actually Pilot Mountain located in North Carolina and we think it looks pretty cool on its own.
#25 Cow Chilling On A Car
No cows were harmed in the making of this fake viral picture.
#26 Photo Of India
This satellite photo of India during the Hindu festival turns out to be a composite of many different satellite images.
#27 Romney Family Misspelling Their Last Name
As hilarious as this misspelling of the Romney last name may look, the photo is actually edited.
#28 Photo Of The Space Shuttle
This photo of a space shuttle rising out of the clouds is photoshopped – but you have to agree that even the original looks pretty cool.
#29 Einstein Riding A Bicycle As A-Bomb Explodes
Another fake photo debunked – Albert Einstein was not happily riding his bicycle in front of a mushroom cloud.
#30 A Photo Of A Tourist Taken Moments Before 9/11
Although many mysteries and conspiracy theories circle the 9/11 attack, this viral photo was outed as fake.
Aušrys Uptas
One day, this guy just kind of figured - “I spend most of my time on the internet anyway, why not turn it into a profession?” - and he did! Now he not only gets to browse the latest cat videos and fresh memes every day but also shares them with people all over the world, making sure they stay up to date with everything that’s trending on the web. Some things that always pique his interest are old technologies, literature and all sorts of odd vintage goodness. So if you find something that’s too bizarre not to share, make sure to hit him up!
