14 Incredible But Fake Viral Images — And The Twitter Account Debunking The Picspammers
Everybody loves mind-blowing images on Twitter — but not many people check if they're real. Meet the Twitter account that's taking on that task.
Incredibly, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping viral picture feeds are all over Twitter. They post images that are beautiful, fascinating, moving...and often complete nonsense. But there's help at hand — the @PicPedant Twitter account is trying to kick back against the factory line approach these accounts take to spreading images — one of many attempts to make fact-checking go as viral as the fact-free.
1. Here are some of @PicPedant's best debunkings:
Cliff Castle Ruins, Germany
Discovery images@DiscoveryImagesFollow
Cliff Castle Ruins, Germany
04:30 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
![.@DiscoveryImages AHAHAHAHAHAHA [repeat] That is Kilurchin Castle, Scotland, photoshopped onto Preikestolen, Norway: https://t.co/tJn5A6SviM](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/426794002113761280/Ze6V2lB4_normal.jpeg)
.@DiscoveryImages AHAHAHAHAHAHA [repeat] That is Kilurchin Castle, Scotland, photoshopped onto Preikestolen, Norway: https://t.co/tJn5A6SviM
PicPedant@PicPedantFollow
.@DiscoveryImages AHAHAHAHAHAHA [repeat] That is Kilurchin Castle, Scotland, photoshopped onto Preikestolen, Norway: https://t.co/tJn5A6SviM
04:35 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
2.
Long exposure photo of a Lightning Bolt hitting a Tree!
Fascinating Pictures@FascinatingpicsFollow
Long exposure photo of a Lightning Bolt hitting a Tree!
10:41 PM - 6 Feb 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@Fascinatingpics Nope, light painting art by @DariusTwin: http://t.co/NXqRjb53Vr
.@Fascinatingpics Nope, light painting art by @DariusTwin: http://t.co/NXqRjb53Vr
10:45 PM - 6 Feb 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
@PicPedant is run by one man, Paulo Ordoveza. "I used to run an urban legend debunking site called pula.ph in the Philippines, waaaay back in the late '90s and early aughts," he told BuzzFeed by email. But, he says, "it petered out after a while because I insisted on making everything longform and I didn't have the time or energy to devote pages of text to scads of repetitive email forwards."
He doesn't just deal with fakes on the account — he also corrects misattributed images, or real images without a credit for the photographer.
3.
Race of double deck buses, 1933
History In Pictures@HistoryInPicsFollow
Race of double deck buses, 1933
12:23 PM - 31 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@HistoryInPics Via the National Archief, The Hague, Netherlands: http://t.co/Fd1BRMKG7X — a fairly obvious 1930s paste-and-airbrush job.
.@HistoryInPics Via the National Archief, The Hague, Netherlands: http://t.co/Fd1BRMKG7X — a fairly obvious 1930s paste-and-airbrush job.
12:27 PM - 31 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
4.
How the sky looks during a space shuttle launch at night. Just Magnificent.
SPACE PORN@GoogleSpacePornFollow
How the sky looks during a space shuttle launch at night. Just Magnificent.
11:46 PM - 21 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@GoogleSpacePorn Not a Space Shuttle. Atlas V rocket launching RBSP satellites 2 years after last shuttle mission: http://t.co/t1NE1L2sB7
.@GoogleSpacePorn Not a Space Shuttle. Atlas V rocket launching RBSP satellites 2 years after last shuttle mission: http://t.co/t1NE1L2sB7
12:15 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
Which accounts are the worst offenders for tweeting fake images? "Anything with 'google', 'earth', or 'porn' in the title seems to be pretty bad about churning out misleading captions and nonattribution," he says. "I'm not even going to bother with the accounts that just regurgitate Reddit/9GAG memes..."
His favourite topic for debunking is anything to do with space: "My heart's always been with spaceflight and astronomy."
5.
The Himalayas from space.
Earth Pics@EARTHPlCSFollow
The Himalayas from space.
01:22 AM - 31 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@EARTHPlCS [repeat] Nope, 3D computer rendering by Christoph Hormann: http://t.co/ufCmr4Vj1B | http://t.co/sPme8kqMfH
.@EARTHPlCS [repeat] Nope, 3D computer rendering by Christoph Hormann: http://t.co/ufCmr4Vj1B | http://t.co/sPme8kqMfH
01:23 AM - 31 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
6.
Black Knight Satellite
Black Knight Satellite
12:46 PM - 24 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@GoogleSpacePorn That's a thermal blanket that drifted off the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an EVA on STS-88. http://t.co/B6bANvgfH1
.@GoogleSpacePorn That's a thermal blanket that drifted off the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an EVA on STS-88. http://t.co/B6bANvgfH1
12:13 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
Why does he think people are so keen to share images, regardless of their accuracy? "Myth and fantasy are powerful forces, and even more powerful is that little endorphin rush one can get from finding a diamond in the rough, a precious little secret that pops out at you from your Twitter Home stream, minimally and pithily captioned in a way that captures your mind and imagination, just so.
"Never mind, of course, that about a million other followers have seen it too; this is yours, this pleasurable feeling of resonance with the past, or with a stranger, or with the natural world, or with the universe, or with a cute animal. When someone comes barging in on that feeling with 'TOTALLY SHOPPED AND STOLEN FROM 500PX LOL' I can understand someone feeling defensive over it.
"And meanwhile, the picspammers have learned how to seize on that feeling, and how to leverage it toward affiliate link profit."
7.
Waterfall Castle, The Enchanted Wood
Earth Pics@ThatsEarthFollow
Waterfall Castle, The Enchanted Wood
05:41 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@ThatsEarth @fakeastropix "Hidden Temple," digital render by Ruben Darío Karamañites Arango http://t.co/HzXS3rUEHb | http://t.co/2lj9Ta98BP
.@ThatsEarth @fakeastropix "Hidden Temple," digital render by Ruben DarÃo Karamañites Arango http://t.co/HzXS3rUEHb | http://t.co/2lj9Ta98BP
08:47 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
8.
Audrey Hepburn
History In Pictures@HistoryInPix.@HistoryInPix [repeat] Already established as NOT Audrey Hepburn or even a lookalike. Duped by another fake. https://t.co/Qu1C1Jrc6l
.@HistoryInPix [repeat] Already established as NOT Audrey Hepburn or even a lookalike. Duped by another fake. https://t.co/Qu1C1Jrc6l
05:46 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
9.
Floating house ... wow ...
Secret World Pics â„¢@TheWorldStoriesFollow
Floating house ... wow ...
03:30 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@TheWorldStories 3D rendering by Sebastian Kerner, Germany: http://t.co/GwQU9UJ3Iu
.@TheWorldStories 3D rendering by Sebastian Kerner, Germany: http://t.co/GwQU9UJ3Iu
03:34 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
10.
Please rt this until this asshole gets caught!
Please rt this until this asshole gets caught!
03:24 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@Fascinatingpics Hoax: bottle was capped, he was wrestling it away from the puppy. You can quit the moral panic now. http://t.co/qur8OmwpHT
.@Fascinatingpics Hoax: bottle was capped, he was wrestling it away from the puppy. You can quit the moral panic now. http://t.co/qur8OmwpHT
03:29 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
11.
Photo from the 1940s of what many scientists believe to be an extinct Megalodon swimming next to a German U-boat.
Terrifying Posts@TerrifyingPostsFollow
Photo from the 1940s of what many scientists believe to be an extinct Megalodon swimming next to a German U-boat.
04:15 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@TerrifyingPosts Nope, fake. Sensationalized photomanipulation created for Discovery Channel 'Megalodon' trailer: http://t.co/DbbSHWuKIx
.@TerrifyingPosts Nope, fake. Sensationalized photomanipulation created for Discovery Channel 'Megalodon' trailer: http://t.co/DbbSHWuKIx
04:21 PM - 30 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
12.
Sequoia National Park - Sierra, NV
Sequoia National Park - Sierra, NV
09:45 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@TheWorldStories Original without moon pasted in: http://t.co/xzt18BNMo6 (Also it's "Sierra Nevada" in California; not "Sierra, Nevada")
.@TheWorldStories Original without moon pasted in: http://t.co/xzt18BNMo6 (Also it's "Sierra Nevada" in California; not "Sierra, Nevada")
09:49 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@TheWorldStories But then, you were probably just auto-scraping the title from Reddit or Imgur or Pixdaus or Pinterest.
.@TheWorldStories But then, you were probably just auto-scraping the title from Reddit or Imgur or Pixdaus or Pinterest.
09:50 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@TheWorldStories Oh heh it's not even from the Sierra Nevada, original pic by Evren Güntürkün was in Europe: http://t.co/jin1lgNKgz
.@TheWorldStories Oh heh it's not even from the Sierra Nevada, original pic by Evren Güntürkün was in Europe: http://t.co/jin1lgNKgz
09:56 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@TheWorldStories So yeah, wrong about moon, wrong about location, wrong about wrong location, and no link crediting original artist.
.@TheWorldStories So yeah, wrong about moon, wrong about location, wrong about wrong location, and no link crediting original artist.
09:57 PM - 29 Jan 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
13.
Cloud that looks like a wave
Cloud that looks like a wave
07:00 AM - 6 Feb 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
.@Fascinatingpics .@soundhunter Photomanipulation by artist Peter Holme III: http://t.co/Lz7nA4o7Dv | http://t.co/zUCfFiGpqw
.@Fascinatingpics .@soundhunter Photomanipulation by artist Peter Holme III: http://t.co/Lz7nA4o7Dv | http://t.co/zUCfFiGpqw
02:35 AM - 7 Feb 14ReplyRetweetFavorite
14.
Awesome !
.@TheWorldStories Cropped from "Scorched Earth" by Daniel Conway (aka arcipello) on DeviantArt: http://t.co/hXDy8r6aV5
.@TheWorldStories Cropped from "Scorched Earth" by Daniel Conway (aka arcipello) on DeviantArt: http://t.co/hXDy8r6aV5
01:35 AM - 7 Feb 14ReplyRetweetFavorite