2016 was the year of the post-truth, the fake news, and the downright lies. We at the Herald take a look back at the five biggest myths, hoaxes and untruths which had people perplexed, confused and outraged in turn!
1. David Cameron in sex-change shock
This first appeared in the respectable online news outlet, Pig Fanciers Weekly. It is still unclear whether this was a total hoax or simply a misunderstanding. It arose from a rumour that the PM was actually a woman. Sources close to Cameron denied the story, claiming that he may be a bit of a c*** but essentially he was all man. “I mean, if he were a woman would he wear those bloody awful sandals, shorts and polo shirts every time we, er, I mean he and his gorgeous wife went on holiday?” said the source.
Verdict: complete porkie
2. Bashir Assad to appear on I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here
Again, this may have been based on a misunderstanding. The Russian news agency, Toss, reported that Assad and His Royal Most Excellent Highness, Ruler of the Iron Throne, Liberator of Crimea, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin had held discussions on how to kick the shit out of everyone who even looked a bit funny at Assad. Apparently, the Syrian president pleaded with Putin to get him out at any cost. “It’s like a jungle here, Vlad.”
Verdict: Ant and Dec to do next show in Aleppo
3. Nigel Farage builds Death Star
A planning application to Rochdale Borough Council in May for an extension to a bungalow in Sebastopol Terrace by Garth Taylor was hilariously recorded as being by Darth Vader of Starwars fame! Someone made the obvious link and even more hilariously it became an application to build a Death Star! The next step was easy – it was Nigel Farage who wanted to build it!! An anonymous reporter put the whole thing together and the rest is history. The story went viral and in no time the whole of East Lancashire was talking about it.
Verdict: what the fuck?
4. New York obliterated in nuclear accident
It took a while before the truth came to the surface. The Pentagon denied that any such accident had happened, which sparked the story in the first place. No-one in NY had noticed anything but as soon as the denial was issued, locals began to question the official version. Camberwell Dixberg, 72, a theoretical baker, insists that it was no accident. “Although there was no bang or even any damage, it couldn’t have been an accident, it must have been deliberate. I read on the internet that they must have used a controlled explosion because there is no way that a nuclear bomb would have missed the Jews who had been told not to go to work and, um, there was something else but maybe that was about vaccines.
Verdict: I used to work for The Times, for God’s sake
5. Donald Trump elected President
How the fuck did the bomb miss him?
Verdict: Happy New Year…
