We all pretty much know by now that you shouldn’t trust everything you see on the internet,
and there’s a reason for that.
People often take advantage of the gullibility of man, playing on our belief that we can
trust one another to produce content like these top 10 fake viral videos that had everybody
fooled.
10.
The Fresno Grizzlies’ Ball Girl Back in 2008, a video was released that made
it seem like the Fresno Grizzlies minor league baseball team had quite the sprightly ball
girl.
The video, which can be seen on the YouTube channel of one Amanda Gaskill, earned over
6 million views and a slew of back-and-forth comments both praising the girl and calling
it out as a fake.
Not long after it reached virality, the ball girl was revealed to be stuntwoman Phoenix
Brown and the video was a Gatorade commercial filmed in the Grizzlies’ stadium after a
game with the Tacoma Rainers.
9.
Near-Miss Lightning While strolling the coastline of Sydney, Australia
with his girlfriend, an unnamed cameraman is believed to have snagged the video of a
lifetime.
As he was filming, a bolt of lightning is seen striking the ground just feet from his
girlfriend.
The event and reaction seemed genuine but, as we’ve come to find out, that doesn’t
always mean it’s real; and believe it or not, it wasn’t.
If you check out the description of the video, which earned YouTube channel Frank DeMayo
3.5 million views, the website to the Woolshed Company is one of the first things you see.
In mid-2016, the Woolshed Company revealed that it was behind a number of viral videos,
this one included.
8.
Megawoosh!
Do you believe a man body sliding down a massive slope would have the luck to hit a kiddy pool
that sits what must be hundreds of feet away?
If so, then you’re among the many that would be fooled by the video depicting engineer
Bruno Kammerl pulling off this exact stunt.
The video is really a spot-on composition of several video editing techniques meant
to act as a piece of viral marketing for Microsoft Germany.
The video was uploaded in August of 2009 and has earned over 6 million views and the occasional
silly parody.
7.
Times Square Video Hack On March 13th, 2011, BITcrash44 amazed viewers
when the channel uploaded a video allegedly showing how to hack into Time Square’s multiple
video screens.
Using a simple transmitter, video repeater, and an iPhone 4, the crew made it seem like
they hijacked a series of New York City’s most viewable monitors.
Over 4 million views and 5 years later there are still those that are still amazed and
slightly unnerved by the feat.
It only took a couple of days for the truth of the video to be revealed and it slowly
became evident that it was a piece of viral marketing for Neil Burger’s 2011 thriller
Limitless starring Bradley Cooper.
For a few seconds before one of the screens is hacked, the movie’s trailer can be seen
playing.
6.
Selfie-Stick Brawl Another of The Woolshed Company’s great
fake-outs, this one is far more hilarious and among the most believable of what it has
put out there.
The video is believed to show an impromptu battle between an American and Japanese tourist.
Part of the realism is how the video flows and initially ignores the two selfie-stick
users that eventually duke it out.
Without warning, the sticks are thrown to the ground and the two engage in a brief rough
and tumble before the American tourist finds himself heading face-first into Australian
waters.
Though fake, the video is a great warning on the perils of too many selfie-sticks.
5.
Baby-Hungry Eagle What starts off as a majestic pan of America’s
favorite bird leads into the start of one family’s very strange day.
Hovering over a park, the eagle seems to swoop around and target an unsuspecting baby.
Though nabbed by the winged beast, the baby is almost immediately dropped.
It’s an incredible sight, or at least would have been if Montreal’s National Animation
and Design Center didn’t reveal it as a production from three of its students.
The trio created the video for a course in their 3D Animation and Digital Design Bachelor’s
degree program, and if the quality is any indication, we have to assume they all passed
with flying colors.
4.
Debbie Loves Cats Poor Debbie seems to have a nice personality
and is attractive enough to find success on eHarmony, but she also has an incredible affinity
for felines that sends her into a stream of tears whenever she thinks of them.
Throughout her video bio, Debbie is unable to talk about cats without crying, creating
a rather awkward scenario that would likely turn men away left and right.
That is, of course, if Debbie’s video bio were at all real.
The girl in question is really Cara Hartmann and the video was meant as a joke between
her and her sister, but thanks to the power of the interweb, it now stands at over 30
million views and features, well, let's just say, "supportive" comments.
3.
Leeroy Jenkins!
It may be safe to say you’re not a true gamer if you haven’t at least heard of Leeroy
Jenkins.
The man is a hero, born out of a World of Warcraft video depicting he and his team prepping
for a raid.
While his fellow guild-members discuss the probabilities of success for their upcoming
attack, Mr. Jenkins sits quietly.
Then, out of nowhere, Jenkin’s pipes up and yells the catchiest of battlecries before
leading his friends to death.
The video teetered on an ambiguous line of real or fake but all suspicions were confirmed
when the guild responsible for it, PalsForLife, announced it was staged.
The video was first uploaded to YouTube in 2005, but it wasn’t until a second upload
in 2006 that it garnered over 45 million views.
2.
Rob Cantor’s Impressions Rob Cantor’s “Perfect” is a catchy little
ditty that the singer-songwriter uploaded to YouTube in July of 2014, but rather than
sing it normally as he’d been known to do for his prior songs “Christian Bale is at
Your Party” and “Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf,” he chose to integrate 29 different
celebrity impressions.
And he did so near flawlessly.
What he didn’t tell viewers is that he wasn’t the one providing the impressions and the
video was an elaborate production of a dozen voice actors providing the vocals of characters
and actors like Kermit the Frog, Smeagol, Christopher Lloyd, and Jeff Goldblum.
It took a few days for the vocalist to reveal the truth of the video and though none of
the impressions were him, he should get credit for pretty accurately matching facial expressions.
1.
The Great Freak Out This one is an internet classic that currently
sits at over 89 million views and is revered for its hilarity and ridiculousness.
The video allegedly catches a young World of Warcraft player who’s just found out
his mother canceled his account.
His brother hides in the closet and catches the entire meltdown, including the odd impromptu
rectal examination with a remote control.
Uploaded in 2009, the video had many questioning the effects of video games on our children,
but all of that debating was for naught when it was revealed that the video was a part
of a series of staged freak outs as part of a series known as Greatest Freakout Ever.
The series was created by Jack Quire and typically showcases his brother, Stephen, losing his
mind for a variety of reasons.