Hoaxes

These goos are from the Hoaxes category, people famous for their involvement in a famous hoax, prank, or lie. Browse another way.

Alex Malarkey

People shouldn't have been so quick to believe this boy's story about visiting Heaven. After all, his last name is another word for falsehood. Go »

Alisha Hessler

What would she have called her reality show? Busom Buddies? Triple Threat? Mammory in the Middle? Go »

Allegra Coleman

I'd be glad to read more about this actress if she were more honorable. Go »

Anna Anderson

Polish factory worker or Russian grand duchess? Go »

Anna Sorokin

She went from Russia to Germany and to France within New York City, unless that was all another invention too. Go »

Artur Samarin

You're not supposed to go through high school twice, but maybe if your first time was in the Ukraine it doesn't count? Go »

Brian Kolfage

This military person wanted to try and fund money for Trump's wall, but getting it past Congress turned out not to be his biggest concern. Go »

Charles Dawson

This amateur archaeologist is the most likely suspect of the fraudulent discovery of Eoanthropus Dawsoni. Go »

Charles Ingram

To identify one of Europe's most notorious cheaters, you'll have to be familiar with Google. Go »

Charles Van Doren

Please don't believe I've given anyone the answer in advance. Go »

David Hampton

If you don't know the answer, you're only five steps away from someone who does. Go »

Donald Crowhurst

He sailed around the world, never leaving the Atlantic Ocean. Go »

Edward Mordrake

Janus of the modern day: A century after this hoax was invented, its story is still being retold. Go »

Emperor Norton I

From rice baron to saint, the Emperor of America captured the hearts of San Franciscans with a bloodless coup. Go »

F.D.C. Willard

For all of his published scholarly works, he has yet to author a paper on felis domesticus. Go »

Falcon Heene

Maybe this kid saw Up too many times. Go »

Frank Abagnale Jr.

They couldn't figure out his identity for five years, so do it yourself... if you can. Go »

George Gill Green

This medical huckster was successful enough to buy his own hotel. Go »

Gosiame Thamara Sithole

Having babies is a happy thing but having a bunch of babies can be painful. So can being admitted to a psychiatric ward. Go »

Guido Russo

I'm here for my vaccination. No, no, that's my real arm. Ignore that rubbery feel. Go »

Helen Duncan

This psychic claimed knowledge of naval incidents before the news hit the homefront, but British law didn't tolerate witchcraft. Go »

JT LeRoy

For a Gen-X novelist concerned with deceit in the hearts of fictional characters, he (she?) sure went to a lot of trouble to commit deceit in public appearances as a fictional author. Go »

James Miranda Barry

Medicine was no big secret to this fruity physician or his patients. Go »

Jamie Keeton

You don't need a cupholder when having drinks with this Chicagoan. Go »

John Herschel

Life on the moon! Too bad the telescope that made this discovery burned down the observatory. Go »

John Mark Karr

Don't claim you got this goo if you're only looking for attention in Thailand. Go »

Jussie Smollett

After he was indicted for faking a hate crime against him, one could ask: Is he really even a Chicago-based actor who has appeared in Empire and Marshall? Go »

Kodee Kennings

Illinois students hungry for truth should look beyond this Iraqi war orphan. Go »

Konrad Kujau

Der Fuhrer? Really? See you in four and a half years. Keep a journal. Go »

Lani Sarem

Her YA novel became a handbook for scamming your way onto the bestseller list for a single day. Go »

Lonelygirl15

This 15-year-old wouldn't feel so alone if she knew you were watching her life on your screen. Go »

Mamoru Samuragochi

He wasn't able to hear his own acclaimed work in a digital medium, except that he was and it wasn't. Go »

Mark Grenon

Selling bleach as a cure for COVID-19 was as credible as the second book of Genesis, according to both this podcasting patriarch and the public prosecutors in his trial this week. Go »

Mark Sargent

This behatted YouTuber's numbers have been anything but flat ever since he started giving a world-spanning conspiracy-believing community its marching orders. Go »

Mary Johnston

Planning a trip to Scotland? A popular travel website lists this resident in their top 100 attractions. Go »

Michaele Salahi

When she and her husband wanted to get into the White House, they didn't wait for an engraved invitation. Go »

Misha Defonseca

Lately, the authenticity of the Holocaust memoir has really gone to the wolves. Go »

Nathan Zohner

This Idaho teenager wasn't the first to warn people of the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, but he was the first to get a pseudoscience term named after him. Go »

Oobah Butler

London's #1 restaurateur didn't have to travel far from home for inspiration. Go »

P.T. Barnum

This showman captured the public's imagination with so many manufactured untruths and poorly-sourced curiosities that the phrase "there's a sucker born every minute" became attributed to him... but that was false, too. Go »

Piltdown Man

So what if you can't prove evolution? It will take them forty years to figure out you took a shortcut. Go »

Rachel Dolezal

You don't have to be a CP to run a local chapter of the NAACP, but it sure helps. Go »

Ray Santilli

He shouldn't open alien bodies to see what killed them. Go »

Richard Montañez

Thanks to his understanding of the Latino snack market, he went from cleaning the executive's office to occupying it, but a newspaper investigation revealed that the only thing truly on fire was his pants. Go »

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo

This Hawaiian prankster became the pretend girlfriend of his favorite Notre Dame player. Go »

Rosie Ruiz

She stole the hearts of many a runner by using shortcuts. Go »

Seth Rich

If you like conspiracy theories about leaked emails, Sean Hannity has a rich one for you. Go »

Simon Leviev

He's inglorious and notorious for using an app to contact and distract his victims, and now Netflix metrics say his story's a hit. Go »

Susan Smith

Don't expect much sympathy if you tearfully blame your incorrect guess on an African-American man who "stole" your keyboard, when instead you drowned it in a lake. Go »

Sylvia Browne

This self-described psychic, now two years deceased, had critics seeing red (and brown) when her claims in several missing-persons cases turned out to be false. Go »

Tania Head

She was the only 9/11 survivor to have been in Barcelona at the time. Go »

Tawana Brawley

She was either raped, beaten, burned, and left for dead, or a pawn in a conspiracy to smear the NYPD. Go »

The Turk

In the goo game, it's easy to tell that a human being has beaten you, but in other games two centuries ago, it wasn't so easy. Go »

Thomas Cochrane

Although le Loup des Mers was successful in nearly all of his naval actions, his insider trading hoax led to his dismissal from the House of Commons. Ironically, he ran on the stance of Parliamentary reform. Go »