The most famous hoaxes in history
The top 3 according to 1 vote: The War of the Worlds broadcast (1938) · The Hitler Diaries (1983) · Piltdown Man (1912). (Updated Apr 8, 2026.)
The fake Hitler diaries in Stern, Piltdown Man, the Cottingley Fairies, a woman who supposedly gave birth to rabbits and an invented colony that sent settlers to their deaths: the hoaxes the world fell for. Which is the most brazen?
Automatically translated (original in Deutsch). See the original
Top 20
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1
The War of the Worlds broadcast (1938)
Orson Welles's radio play about a Martian invasion; the mass panic was greatly exaggerated.
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2
The Hitler Diaries (1983)
Stern paid millions for Konrad Kujau's forgeries.
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3
Piltdown Man (1912)
A "missing link" made from a medieval skull and an orangutan jaw.
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4
The Cottingley Fairies (1917–1920)
Two girls photographed paper fairies; even Arthur Conan Doyle believed in them.
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5
Bower and Chorley's crop circles (1978–1991)
Two men made crop circles across England for years.
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6
The Amityville Horror (1975)
The Lutz family's haunting story, an invented bestseller.
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7
The Cardiff Giant (1869)
A ten-foot "petrified man" shown for an entrance fee.
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8
Balloon Boy (2009)
Parents faked their son flying off in a balloon.
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9
Mary Toft's rabbits (1726)
An Englishwoman claimed to give birth to rabbits.
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10
Milli Vanilli (1989)
The duo did not sing themselves and lost their Grammy.
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11
Poyais (1820–1823)
Gregor MacGregor sold land in a country that did not exist.
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12
Mumler's spirit photographs (1860s)
Double exposures sold as "proof" of ghosts.
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13
The Great Moon Hoax (1835)
The New York Sun reported on life on the Moon.
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14
The Tasaday (1971–1986)
A supposedly uncontacted people in the Philippines.
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15
The Raëlian clones (2002)
A sect claimed to have cloned the first human.
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16
Living megalodons (2013)
A Shark Week mockumentary many took for real.
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17
"Go Ask Alice" (1971)
A supposedly real diary that was made up.
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18
Napoleon's fake death (1814)
A false report to make money on the London Stock Exchange.
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19
The Manti Te'o case (2012)
A football star mourned a girlfriend who never existed.
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20
The Roswell alien autopsy (1995)
Ray Santilli's film, later admitted to be a re-creation.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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