13 Famous Photographs That Are Actually Fake

The Web often surprises us with clever photo manipulations. Some users make fun of them; others just distrust them.

We at FunnyModo found several brilliant examples of photography that caused a great deal of uproar around the world while being completely fake.

Nominee without a nomination

This is one of the oldest and most notorious viral photos of all time. It made a good deal of hullabaloo when it appeared on the Internet, yet it’s actually two unrelated pictures masterfully merged together. The irony is that it was National Geographic’s reputation that suffered the most from its appearance: the picture often had a caption stating it was chosen as “National Geographic Photo of the Year.”

The island castle or the castle island

A short yet mesmerizing caption, The Castle Island, Ireland, doesn’t leave you a choice: you just long to drop everything and go to Dublin to see this miracle of architecture for yourself. Alas, it’s no more real than Neverland. This is good old Photoshop, but it’s so good it made millions believe it.

A fruit to die for

It’s been several years now since summer began with the hype around this unusual treat. It has many names: blue, moon, Chinese, Japanese… All the sadder that it doesn’t really exist.

Big Bang Theory

“If you’re one of the most prominent scientists in history, be sure you’ll be mentioned whether it fits or not,” Albert Einstein said in 1911. Just kidding, he didn’t. Just as he didn’t ride a bicycle anywhere near the nuclear explosion in Nevada in 1962. Mainly because he had died 7 years prior.

Fear makes the bear bigger than he is

This photo makes you smile in spite of yourself. Emergencies do happen during wildlife shooting, but this is not the case: look at the shape of the bear’s head and a patch of grass on its right front paw. Unfortunately, if you believed this picture to be authentic, we have to disappoint you: it’s Photoshopped.

The legendary title screen

This photo appeared a couple of years ago, allegedly showing the famous Metro Goldwyn Mayer roaring lion. Some thought it funny, but wildlife protectors were outraged by such a violation of the animal’s freedom. To avoid further arguments, rest assured: this is a fake. The original photo shows the lion was really having an MRI.

The great Photoshopped white

Animal photographs never cease to fascinate the general public, and this picture of the great white shark, captioned as “National Geographic Photo of the Year,” was no exception in 2016. Many seemed to think it was genuine, while others had trouble believing its authenticity. As a result, another bubble was loudly popped, and National Geographic had to make a return move.

Black is white, white is black

The photo of a majestic black lion received hundreds of thousands of likes from connoisseurs around the world. Everyone who saw it talked about the unique beast. But, despite the fact that black lions did exist in reality, this particular picture is made up. The original still looks magnificent, though.

A very strong baby

Although a woman feels her baby pushing in the later stages of pregnancy and can even see bumps on her belly, the abdominal walls are too thick for a foot to be seen this clearly. In addition, the foot is too big for an unborn baby. All in all, this little guy would’ve surely been no less than a Hercules, if only he existed. The source of the picture is unknown, but it’s probably made up, just like later copycats.

Now this is awkward

The story about George W. Bush, Jr. reading a book upside down wasn’t only savored by the Internet community but even got to some mass media that used this chance to hint at the mental capacity of the then-President of the US. However, the uproar was born out of nowhere: Bush was holding the book correctly.

Seconds before

This fake photo appeared just a few weeks after 9/11. Despite the obvious logical inconsistencies (How could the tourist not have heard the airplane? Why hadn’t the photographer told him about it? How did the camera survive?), the horror of the tragedy gave this picture worldwide credit. However, soon the myth was busted, and the tourist himself was found.

Batman and Joker

This photo was spread via Twitter, and the caption said Heath Ledger was having fun on the set of The Dark Knight. The statement was easily accepted by the online community and can still be seen in all social networks while being no more than a photo edit.

Airborne selfie

The picture of a fearless pilot taking a selfie in the air created such hype that it even begot a number of copycats. Some of them, even having confessed to the fraud, still get thousands of likes. Of course, it looks pretty flashy, but it’s still fake. Nevertheless, even the real photo is awesome and deserves public attention.

Preview photo credit quora, an-aviation