“Like this photo and your kids will have superpowers of Spiderman, if you do not share, your son will become Green Goblin”
Replace the boons with a blessing of a god and curse them with poverty, and you have a viral FB post.
Then come the “factual” Facebook posts that are believed and shared because they sound so awesome. Who would want to share a cure for a deadly disease that works in just 48 hours!
Well, if we just paused and searched a bit more, we would find the truth.
But we do not.
Here are some of the most viral and “helpful” fake FB posts we have come across.
1. Woman gives birth to 11 baby boys
The Fake Rumor – An Indian Woman gave birth to eleven 11 kids baby boys few days ago. Doctors were really surprised, shocked and glad to have a successful delivery.
The Real Fact – Only two women till date have given births to 9 babies, and all of them have died after birth. The picture is actually of a hospital where they have put 11 babies from different mothers. All the babies are conceived with IVF and that is why it was a big deal.
Here is the Real News Source.
2. Wolf pack
The Fake Rumor –Â “A wolf pack: the first 3 are the old or sick, they give the pace to the entire pack. If it was the other way round, they would be left behind, losing contact with the pack. In case of an ambush they would be sacrificed. Then come 5 strong ones, the front line. In the center are the rest of the pack members, then the 5 strongest following. Last is alone, the alpha. He controls everything from the rear. In that position he can see everything, decide the direction. He sees all of the pack. The pack moves according to the elders pace and help each other, watch each other.”
The Real Fact – It is just a picture of a wolf pack. Nothing else. The alpha wolf actually walks in the front, and not in the back.
Here is the Real News Source
3. Coke and Pepsi are used as pesticides by farmers
The Fake Rumor – Hundreds of Indian farmers started using Coke and Pepsi as pesticides instead of real ones. They claimed that Coke and Pepsi had the same effect and also cost cheap.
The Real Fact – This is partially true, one farmer did use them to spray on his crops. But there are no chemicals in the soft drinks that actually can repel insects and pests.
Here is the Real News Source
4. Macauley’s address to parliament saying that India had no beggars
The Fake Rumor – This post made Indians believe that India was without poverty and beggars before the British came and took charge.
The Real Fact – Lord Macauley never made any such speech. It was used as a fake fact by BJP to promote hate towards the British. It was quoted by Imran Khan in Pakistan too when he spoke against Nawaz Sharif.
Here is the link to L K Advani’s Blog which has this stupid post.
5. UNESCO declares Jana Gana Mana as the greatest anthem
The Fake Rumor – UNESCO, out of the blue, declared the Indian National Anthem as the best national anthem in the world.
The Real Fact – No. UNESCO has better things to do rather than just behaving like Indian Idol judges and giving awards to national anthems. People really believed it though.
Here is the Real News Source
6. AIDS infected medical syringes in cinema seats
The Fake Rumor – People are suddenly getting pricked by needles in movie seats and claiming to get AIDS.
The Real Fact –Â This is a hoax EVERYONE shared, and once in a while someone still posts it. There are no syringes in your cinema seats. It is as fake as hoaxes get.
7. How to detect a two-way mirror
The Fake Rumor – Using your finger, you can test whether the mirror in the changing room at the mall is a two-way mirror or not.
The Real Fact – This technique will not work all the time. It depends on the mirror’s thickness, lighting, and size of the mirror. There are better tests to ascertain whether the mirror is fake or not.
The best test – If it is hung on a brick solid wall, it is probably a normal one.
8. 179-year-old man found in India
The Fake Rumor – There is a man living in India who is 179 years old.
The Real Fact – The “news” was found on a fake news website and thought to be real and circulated all over the Internet.
Just FYI – there is no 179-year-old man alive anywhere.
9. India’s blindness problem can be cured in 11 days
The Fake Rumor – Within 11 days there will be no blind people left if everyone donated.
The Real Fact – We do not have the basic infrastructure to store 62,000 sets of eyes every day. And we do not have any system in place that can transplant so many eyes either.
Although the message behind the post is real, it is very misleading in multiple ways.
Here is the Real News Source
10. Three headed snake spotted somewhere
The Fake Rumor – A three-headed snake was seen in India, somewhere.
The Real Fact – There is no three-headed snake. Use your heads people.
11. Giant Ghatotkacha skeleton found!
The Fake Rumor – A skeleton of a giant supposed to be the son of Bhima from Mahabharata – Ghatotkacha was found.
The Real Fact – There was no giant skeleton found. It is an elaborate hoax.
Here is the Real News Source
12. Please don’t turn on the AC in your car as soon as you go in
The Fake Rumor – Open the windows first and then switch the AC ON so that all the cancer causing particles will go away.
The Real Fact – It is unproven whether the air that comes out of the AC is carcinogenic. But a lot of people did believe it.
Here is the Real Fact Source
13. Papaya leaves can cure Dengue in 48 hours
The Fake Rumor – Papaya leaves can cure Dengue in just 48 hours. Papaya leaf extract capsules can cure Dengue in just 48 hours.
The Real Fact – Papaya leaves do have a positive effect in treating Dengue. But they cannot solely treat a patient in just 48 hours.
The post is misleading and potentially life threatening.
Here is the Real News Source
14. Bananas with black patches can cure cancer
The Fake Rumor – Bananas with dark patches on them can fight cancer
The Real Fact – No. Bananas with dark patches CANNOT fight cancer. If they could, we would have been having banana therapy instead of chemotherapy. They can, however, be used to detect if you have skin cancer or not.
Here is the Real News Source
15. Leftover onion are poisonous the next day!
The Fake Rumor – Onions become poisonous if kept cut overnight. They also absorb germs and cause diseases.
The Real Fact – There is no evidence that raw and cut onions “absorb” germs overnight.
Here is the Real Fact Source
16. Your phone has a name! Enter your last three digits to find out!
The Fake Rumor – If you entered your last three mobile number digits, you would get your phone’s name.
The Real Fact – It was a phishing scam. They would just give you any random name and take your phone number with them. Simple.
17. See how many people viewed your Facebook profile!
The Fake Rumor – You can see how many people have viewed your FB profile if you click on this, share it and like this page
The Real Fact – We cannot believe that people still share this post. It’s a simple phishing scam. The number of views they give you is a random number. There is no way they can see how many people have viewed your profile.
We need to stop these hoaxes from spreading on Facebook.
They are harmful for the well-being of our country’s intelligence as a whole.
Report them as soon as you see them. Get real.
Get smart.