Thatcher is dead — the cat, not the former British Prime Minister“Thatcher has died”: This text message sent by Canadian Transport Minister John Baird to a person at a gala dinner informing them that his beloved cat, named after the Iron Lady, had died, sent MPs into a panic.
Hoax
Hoaxes: sometimes we lie in wait for them
Chastising the media for reporting the balloon boy story in the US or attacking the guerrilla tourism marketing campaign involving a fake Danish single mother won’t prevent hoaxes such as these from occurring, writes Simon Caterson.
Crikey Clarifier: Why do all these celebrities keep ‘dying’ in New Zealand?
Zach Braff is not the only celebrity to have been the subject of death rumours in recent times. He is also not the only one who has supposedly fallen to their death from the Kauri Cliffs. So what’s going on here? Elly Keating investigates.
Ghetto to PhD: Roxanne’s fictional revenge
Last week the internet was abuzz with the heartfelt story of a rapper getting her PhD paid for by Warner Music, thanks to a forgotten contract clause. However, Slate have debunked the story as a pack of lies.
The five ballsiest lies ever told in journalism
When it comes to lies in the media, there’s the warrants-five-minutes-on-Media-Watch stuff, and then there are these tall tales. Cracked wraps some of the biggest, ballsiest bits of BS to ever hit the front pages.
Did you hear about the Don DeLillo hoax?
A hoax review appeared in US literary journal Modernism/Modernity, ‘written’ by a character from Don DeLillo’s White Noise. Which wouldn’t be a big deal, except it was being referenced by academics and took five years before the hoax was noticed.
Internet hoaxes: a monster of a scam
The internet loves a good hoax. Especially if it involves a pulsating slimey thing or a dried carcass found on a beach. Cracked exposes the top monster scams.
Green facade: a fake newspaper dreams of a better world
The Yes Men have created a fake newspaper page for the now defunct International Herald Tribune… for December 2009. The headlines are the stuff green dreams are made of.
Online hoaxes: Mars, Wikipedia and high school students
So many hoaxes online, so little time.
Five great news hoaxes
From Hitler’s diaries to revolvers in Georgia, Daniel Finkelstein looks at the best news pranks.
Poisoning cyberspace with Arab hate mail
A fresh coat of hatred has been poured over a hoary old internet fakement about ignorant Arab pilots and a brand new Airbus they destroyed on the ground in France, writes Ben Sandilands.
