Check out these viral hoax videos that fooled us all. From an onion that can charge an iPod to a fake hunting video that wracked up millions of views, these are 5 hoax videos that fooled the world.
5. Lightning Almost Strikes Girl in Sydney
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHOBhgjc1Jc[/embedyt]
This video shows a couple exploring the rocky beachfront at Tamarama near Sydney, Australia. As the women approaches the water a lightning bolt strikes the ground just metres from her.
The video went viral. It was shared thousands of times, wracking up more than 3 million views.
Video production agency The Woolshed Company revealed that the video was a hoax that they had engineered as a ‘social experiment’.
4. #ShellFAIL: Private Arctic Launch Party Goes Wrong
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMUFci_V4mU[/embedyt]
PR gimmick goes wrong. Supposedly filmed at Seattle’s Space Needle, the event was meant to be a send off for oil giant Shell’s arctic rigs. In the video we see a model oil rig that’s purpose built to dispense drinks for the distinguished guests.
The launch goes horribly wrong when the drink dispensing oil rig malfunctions and sprays an elderly lady with wine.
It was later outed as a hoax created by an activist group called The Yes Men in association with Greenpeace. They launched the viral campaign to raise awareness of Shell’s controversial Arctic drilling.
3. How to Charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfPJeDssBOM[/embedyt]
This ‘how to’ by Youtuber HouseholdHacker purports that you can charge an iPod using electrolytes and an onion. The tutorial states that if you soak a white onion in Gatorade or Powerade, something containing electrolytes, you’ll be able to charge your iPod for around 20 minutes.
The outrageous claims made by the video sent the Internet into a frenzy, garnering social and traditional media attention. To date, the clip has wracked up over 10 million views. It even caught the eye of Discovery Channel’s long running show Mythbusters. Host Grant Imahara put the claims to the test. Not surprisingly he busted the myth wide open – proving that you can’t make a wet-cell battery out of an onion and a sports drink.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX6-jZpXDp4[/embedyt]
2. Satanic Ritual at CERN complex in Geneva, Switzerland
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pqp33cVkIE[/embedyt]
This striking footage, allegedly taken at the CERN complex in Geneva, Switzerland shows what many are calling a Satanic ritual. Filmed on a handy cam through an office window, we see numerous cloaked figures in formation. A woman takes her robe off and lies on the ground. Another figure raises a knife into the air before plunging it deep into the woman, seen as some kind of sacrificial offering.
The video spread quickly around forums and social media sites. Many Internet commentators analysed the footage, trying to debunk it.
CERN management released a statement calling the video a piece of fiction, blaming out-of-line lab employees for its creation. The video breaches CERN’s professional guidelines and is under investigation.
1. Lion Takes Revenge On Trophy Hunter! [LEAKED VIDEO]
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBa4D9D6Gng[/embedyt]
Presented as a ‘leaked video’, the Youtube channel ‘Jayden Tanner’ uploaded this clip claiming it was found on a recent trip to South Africa. It was rumored to be a notorious piece of footage passed around by hunters.
The clip shows a hunter and a guide standing over a freshly shot lion. They pose and boast over the kill, getting photos for the wall back home.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a second lion chases them off camera. You can hear screams and gun shots as the camera tilts forward.
The video struck a cord with the Internet as it was shared thousands of times, most believing it to be real.
As of now, the video has clocked more than 12 million views.
Several months after the video went live it was revealed that the whole thing was fabricated. Yet another fake viral success at the hands of the previously mentioned Melbourne based video production firm The Woolshed Company. The video was another well executed addition to their ‘social experiment’, a series of fake viral videos that have collectively chalked up more than 205 million views worldwide.
—
So there’s our list of 5 viral hoax videos that fooled the world. Did this listicle inspire you to do a little photoshopping? If so, let us know on Twitter and Facebook.
