Fake news is, according to Dictionary.com:

false news stories, often of a sensational nature, created to be widely shared or distributed for the purpose of generating revenue, or promoting or discrediting a public figure, political movement, company, etc.

People who have rejected mainstream sources are more likely to believe fringe sources that make up stories, use misleading headlines, fail to check facts, and use fallacy to persuade them. People make poor decisions when they are influenced by fake news.

This list compiled by Bored Panda will show you the reality and sometimes the ugly truth behind Internet-famous photos so prepare yourself for some eye-opening shots that will prove once again – you can’t trust everything you see online.

#1 Astronaut Smoking Marijuana In Space

It’s safe to say that Chris Hadfield is one of the most beloved Astronauts there is. His incredible vlogs from space answered so many questions about life in zero gravity, from cleaning your teeth to sleeping, everything is different in space. Although this form of vlogging is very one-of-a-kind, you shouldn’t think that this incredible guy would use any type of drugs while literally flying in space. In the real photo, Chris was actually just trying to surprise his co-workers with some Easter eggs!

#2 Not-So-Planned College Name Sign

Some time ago this famous image was an absolute representation of internet humor, the ironic mistake was something that people constantly shared online. Unfortunately, the photo was photoshopped so well, it wasn’t so easy to understand it was actually fake.

#3 Dangerous Pilot Selfie

This iconic selfie of a pilot photographing himself in the air was actually a photo of him when he was safely landed, but it’s important to mention, that even on the land, it’s a pretty cool selfie!

#4 A Kid Sleeping Near His Deceased Parents’ Graves In Syria

A photo of a kid sleeping near his deceased parents’ grave in Syria turned out to a piece of staged photography since the kid knew the photographer and the graves did not belong to his parents. Although this type of photojournalism is still completely heartbreaking it proves once again you can’t trust everything you see online.

#5 Unique Black Lion

If we could make a list of the internet’s most beloved topics, weird animals would definitely have their place in the top 10. It seems that finding weird and unique species is something everyone thrives in, and although it is a cool thing to come across a unique animal, there is no need to create one with photoshop, or if you’re doing so, please do not try to trick people into thinking it actually exists.

#6 First Dab In The History

Although all of us would hope that the first dab was captured back in the 20th century, meaning this iconic movement will never age, unfortunately, this photo is actually a behind-the-scenes photo from the movie Dunkirk, shot in 2017.

#7 Giant Skeleton Found

The internet is filled with photoshopped images of archaeologists finding huge skeletons that might belong to giants. If this was the reality, a new chapter in history would be open and we could consider some myths to be true. Unfortunately, no science or history museum has ever accepted these findings for one simple reason: the photos that show these skeletons are completely fake.

#8 Cow Chilling On A Car

The internet is full of photoshopped pictures that just don’t make any sense and somehow we still manage to believe them. One of those fake viral photos was a picture of a cow chilling on a BMW. Well turns out, no car was damaged in the making of this photo since the cow was chilling on the grass like it was supposed to.

#9 Viral Photo Of A Pooping Cheerleader

There is always a lot of controversy and fake news during the elections, especially in a country as big as the USA. So, there is no surprise that back when Mitt Romney was running for president, people were trying their best to ruin his campaign. One piece of fake news that surfed the media was a fake photo of Romney’s spelling the word ‘Money’ instead of his last name ‘Romney’.

#10 President Obama pointing at a naked picture of Trump?

This was a photo currently swirling around the great big toilet bowl of social media that supposedly shows President Obama in Cuba. He’s pointing and smiling at an illustration of a naked Donald Trump. An illustration of Donald Trump sporting a micropenis, no less. But it’s completely fake.
To make things even weirder, it’s a photoshop of a photoshop. The image on the bottom right featuring Beavis and Butthead was created by Vincent X Torres from the Guzu Gallery in Austin, Texas about a week ago. He originally posted it to his Facebook page, and that photo is also fake.

#11 Is this a baby moose with a LGBT flag?

Have you seen that photo of a baby moose holding a gay pride flag? It’s adorable. But unfortunately, it’s also fake. Why is the internet so mean?
The photo below has been doing the rounds lately with an astonishing number of retweets on Twitter.
If you compare the flag photo to this other photo of a baby moose on Imgur, you can clearly see that the pride flag has been photoshopped in:

#12 Was this a real Heineken beer ad?

Did people really feed their babies beer back in the “good old days?” Well, maybe. If you were a weirdo, irresponsible parent. But that ad on the left supposedly showing ad is fake.
The ad on the left was obviously photoshopped as a joke, It’s an old school 7-Up ad, as you can see from the authentic magazine advertisement on the right. And while people are currently horrified that 7-Up used to advertise their product as being safe for consumption by children, Heineken never advertised beer to toddlers.

#13 A PICTURE of Prince William appearing to make a VERY un-Royal gesture

From one angle, the picture, appears to show the prince giving the middle finger, But what it actually shows is the new dad holding up three fingers, to show he now has three children.

#14 A Guy Creating An Amazing Fried Rice Wave

The ‘fried rice meme’ showed a man making an incredible rice wave in his pan. This interesting photo quickly received a lot of attention online and people from all around the world started to send in their own photoshopped images of the rice wave. Unfortunately, the original itself is already a fake photo since the rice wave is a sculpture that is sold in a fake food shop in Tokyo.

#15 Behind The Scenes Photo Of MGM Intro

A photo of a lion strapped onto a machine in order to make the iconic MGM intro of a lion roaring is actually a photo of a lion being diagnosed at the vet’s office. Luckily, the lion made a wonderful recovery and is now completely healthy. Also, an interesting fact is that there have been 7 lions that were used to create the MGM intro, the current one, who’s name is Leo, has appeared in most of the movies since 1957.

#16 Bear Chasing National Geographic Photographers

A photo showing a bear chasing a group of National Geographic photographers would send shivers down anyone’s spine. Just imagining being in such a dangerous situation is terrifying. But They were in Colorado for a film that was never produced and thought it would be funny to send a prank photo to their friends and families.
The bear in the photo is actually captured in a stock photo that can be easily found online.