6 fake quotes and images people (wrongly) believed to be real

But if the news – that medium which was traditionally supposed to be a source of facts – is lying to us online, what about those images – the ones from the ‘Funny Amazing Pics’ and ‘Happy Good Laughter History Memes’ Facebook pages you’ve been chucking about? Could they, too, be selling us down the river? Yes. Here are the ones that have mugged you right off.

Oh boy, the Mr Trump better hope nobody comes across this and widely distributes it across social media! That could be a fatal blow to his campaign to become president! Turns out  scoured the People Magazine archive, and he never actually said this. And also that it was extremely widely shared and still did nothing to stop him becoming President. Oh humans.

The late Alan Rickman, who starred in the Harry Potter films as the strict chemistry teacher ‘Professor Snape’, talking about his love of the classic children’s witchcraft series. It’s extra-heartbreaking because it’s something his character says in the last book about his undying devotion to his childhood crush and her son, Harry Potter.

It’s extra-extra-heartbreaking because Rickman didn’t even get to live to 80, being taken from the world at the cruel age of 69. It’s extra-extra-extra heartbreaking because he didn’t actually say it, it just emanated from Tumblr and we all fell for its charm hook, line and sinker.

At first glance, this look like a saucy snap of JFK tenderly embracing Marilyn Monroe and damning evidence of their much-rumoured evidence. On consulting the facts, it’s actually the work of the photographer Alison Jackson, whose work playfully gets lookalikes to pose for stuff .

Not exactly sure why you would’ve been sharing this picture of Abraham Lincoln in the first place, perhaps because you’ve been taken by a desire to share assassinated president content after your JFK blunder above, but it’s a famous and widely distributed portrait of the big man, apparently.

Except, it isn’t.

It’s actually a South Carolina politician who went by the name of John C. Calhoun and who died 1860, a year before Lincoln was even president.

This is not Hercules, the Guinness World Record holder for being The World’s Biggest Ever dog, as ‘Urban Legends Expert’ David Emery . Sadly.

This looks like it would be a galling visit to the shops. Imagine just nipping out to buy a new pair of jeans and then bam, two deadly sharks are biting at your ankles, blocking you from leaving and forcing you to spend five hours buying Millie’s Cookies because it’s the only shop on the floor you’re trapped on which isn’t trying to make you get your laptop repaired.

You’d really hate sharks. You’re probably thinking “go away, sharks” right now, just picturing the scene. Well, you’re being harsh mate, because this is really just a manipulated pic of a flooded scientific centre.

[Adapted from ShortList UK]