As usual at the start of each year we compile out top ten most viewed articles from the previous year. Just like 2010, 2011 was dominated by viral rumours that ran amok on social networking sites, specifically Facebook – all our entries owe their success to social networking. So here is our top ten most viewed articles of 2011 –
10. Baby Found in Bin with Ant Bites
Views: 12,359
Date Trending: Oct 2011
We start off with an actual true story that was passed around Facebook about a story about a baby being found in a rubbish bin in South Africa with ant bites. The story was prolifically passed around Facebook during October with a photo of the baby in hospital. Last time we heard the baby was doing fine.
9. Royal British Legion Not Selling Poppies not to Offend Minorities
Views: 14,334
Date Trending: Sept 2011
Nothing circulates more prolifically than racial propaganda to rile Facebook users into sharing. Of course, just like most propaganda, it is rarely true – just like this message that is actually just a reworking of another hoax about football fans in England not being allowed to wear football shirts. This rumour actually took an incident where the RBL actually were not allowed to sell poppies because of a licensing conflict out of context to make Facebook users believe it was down to minorities being offended. In reality, it was nothing to do with minorities, and the licensing conflict was duly sorted.
8. Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Spray Painting a Mosque
Views: 16,152
Date Trending: Oct 2011
Another piece of racial propaganda circulating Facebook came in the guise of a true story used in an out-of-context message. The message – which told the story of two men who were sentenced to prison for spray painting a mosque – compared the sentence the men got to lighter sentences received by minorities. However just like all racially motivated propaganda, the message conveniently omitted certain facts to fit the overall purpose of the message.
7. Facebook Cravings/Weeks Status
Views: 26,005
Date Trending: Sept 2011
Not quite a rumour, but this controversial “game” was apparently designed to raise awareness for breast cancer. The ladies on Facebook were told to write how many weeks they were and what they were craving, making unaware contacts believe that they were pregnant. In reality the number of weeks and object of craving was actually down to the month and date they were born.
6. tn_tinyman at end of Facebook URLs
Views: 26,271
Date Trending: Nov 2011
This rumour circulated the Internet prolifically after taking advantage of a Facebook glitch. When Facebook users were inexplicably seeing the word tinyman after their Facebook URL address, either devious pranksters or uninformed users devised rumours that it was down to hacker groups trying to compromise your account. What didn’t help was that the rumour coincided with a threat against Facebook by Anonymous- which turned out to be false anyway – but was enough for many to put 2 and 2 together and make 5. In fact the it was just a Facebook glitch causing the phenomena.
5. Worlds Smallest Elephant Photo
Views: 27,991
Date Trending: Oct 2011
Nothing circulates so prolifically like a viral photo which apparently depicts something amazing, only it actually doesn’t. The worlds smallest elephant photo was one example of just that – a photo which claims to show the worlds smallest elephant actually turned out to be a photo of a dead elephant foetus taking during someone’s holiday.
4. Facebook HTTP vs HTTPS
Views: 28,030
Date Trending: Feb 2011
This popular rumour with implored Facebook users to switch to the https setting for fear of getting hacked was simple scare mongering. It was based in truth – the https setting is more secure, but the message made out that not using it would be disastrous – overly alarmist nonsense!
3. Pepsi Bottle Infected with HIV
Views: 28,033
Date Trending: July 2011
Out of the several malicious rumours that circulated the Internet regarding the PepsiCo company, this one seems to be the most persistent and popular. However completely unfounded the rumour was, and despite receiving various firm denials from PepsiCo, the rumour continued to circulate unabated in many different variations across the Internet, including Facebook.
2. Hover Over My Name and Unclick Subscribed Message
Views: 28,169
Date Trending: Dec 2011
One of the latest rumours to circulate in the latter part of 2011 was also one of the most popular. This prolific rumour owes its success to capitalising on two ever successful subjects always popular with Facebook users – Facebook changes and privacy. This rumour claimed that the various changes Facebook was making (variations existed for both the Ticker and Timeline) was causing privacy concerns. However the rumour was inaccurate and overly alarmist, providing incorrect information – yet it was still one of the most widely circulated messages passed around Facebook.
1. Nails in Pieces of Cheese
Views: 46,926
Date Trending: Oct 2011
This message that circulating prolifically on Facebook and Tumblr warned dog walkers of a recent spate of nails laced in cheese. The story came attached with a photo of a handful of cheese bits with nails stuck through them. In our experience, most often the most successful viral rumours are loosely based on true stories, thus allowing them to see more incredible. This rumour was indeed based on a real incident that occurred sometime earlier in Argentina – however the rumour made out that it was a trending occurrence and many versions incorrectly attributed the story to parks in the US. The story went viral across the Internet, and was one of the most prolific rumours to circulate in 2011.