The most popular Internet hoaxes so far in 2017
Believe it or not, 2017 has passed it’s half way point. And just like previous years, there has been no shortage of hoaxes and fake news that have circulated across social media.
We take the time for a half year review and look at the most popular hoaxes so far in 2017.
Do not accept Jessica or Christopher Davies
This viral social media warning hit right at the end of 2016 and carried through to 2017, peaking from time to time. The warning claimed that accepting a friend request on Facebook from either Jessica or Christopher Davies would result in your computer getting hacked.
Of course the rumour was entirely nonsense and just another incarnation of the classic “Don’t add this person because they are a hacker” variant of warnings that have been plaguing Internet users since the 1990s. We discuss the warning in more detail here.
Dance of the Hillary/Pope
These fake virus warnings have been incredibly popular during 2017, but originated in 2015 when a warning about a phantom virus called “Dance with the Pope” spread between users claiming it was a virus that would “format your mobile”.
Towards the end of 2016 an equally spurious warning began to spread that changed the name “Pope” to “Hillary” in relation to the presidential elections. Despite all the other details being the same (it was still apparently a virus that would format your mobile) the fake warning again went viral throughout latter 2016 and 2017.
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Kayla Scott prayer request
The Kayla Scott prayer request is one of those rumours that will lie completely dormant for months or years before being suddenly reignited to viral stardom, and that happened again in May 2017 when out of nowhere this classic “please pass it on” message surged on Facebook, and we know it has spread with different names attached to the injured child and his/her parents.
The message is a prayer request for a child apparently shot with a brad nailer gun, but we cannot find any incident that matches the description in the message, and even if we could, it first spread in 2010, meaning if it ever was referring to a real incident, the request would now be hopelessly outdated.
ATM PIN in reverse?
This classic hoax has been spreading for years and once again makes an appearance in 2017 with a consistently high showing across every month this year. The claim that typing your PIN number in reverse to contact the police is demonstrably false given that ATM users can still use palindrome PIN numbers (numbers that read the same in reverse such as 1331.)
Typing in “Facebook Security” shows blocked users
A rumour instructed Facebook users to head to their Blocking settings and type in Facebook Security. The resulting list would apparently show “stalkers” or Facebook staff that had been paid to spy on you.
This hoax was immensely popular despite being completely false. All users were doing when following the instructions was bringing up a list of Facebook users with the words “facebook security” relevant to their account.
Trump plagiarises speech from Bee Movie?
2017 saw the inauguration of President Trump, and that is something that was always going to generate a lot of online misinformation (crowd sizes, anyone?) In regards to Internet hoaxes, however, the most popular seemed to be a claim that Trump had copied his inaugural speech from the script of Bee Movie.
Machupo Virus spreading in Paracetamol?
A completely baseless and unfounded rumour claimed that the Machupo virus was being spread by p/500 Paracetamol tablets, despite failing to back up its claims. We discussed it in more detail here.
Do not accept Anwar Jitou
Another phantom hacker warning advises users not to accept a Facebook user called “Anwar Jitou” for he is a hacker. Once again this warning proves to be of little substance and can be dismissed as a hoax. Read more here.