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Truth or Fail: HOAXES!

2009-10-24 · explainer · Hank · 1:48 · watch on YouTube

Topic: History & curiosities · mode: Curiosity & trivia · tags: recurring series, timely hook

Hank hosts a hoax edition of the Truth or Fail game, pegged to the Balloon Boy hoax, arguing people have always fooled people, and poses round one: Poe as a serial hoaxer vs a girl's Statue of Liberty monkey hoax.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Truth or Fail rules; Balloon Boy recap: the dad faked it to land a reality TV show

  • ★ Hank explains Truth or Fail: a simple interactive YouTube game show where he gives two statements and viewers click the true one, or fail. — 00:00:00 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank recaps the Balloon Boy story: the dad pretended his son was in the balloon while the boy was in the attic, wanting a big story to land a reality TV show. (playful) — 00:00:00
  • ★ Hank mocks the idea that being on a reality TV show is 'the one certain path to true and final happiness'. (satire) — 00:00:00

00:00:37 — People have fooled people since time began; round one: Poe as serial hoaxer vs a girl's lost-monkey hoax at the Statue of Liberty

  • ★★★ Hank says people have been fooling people since time began, so this is the hoax edition of Truth or Fail. — 00:00:37
  • ★★ Round one, option one: Poe not only convinced the world a man had flown a gas balloon over the Atlantic, but was a serial hoaxer who tried to fool the news media at least six times (one option is false). (playful, unsure) — 00:00:37
  • ★★ Round one, option two: at the Statue of Liberty's 25th anniversary a little girl claimed to have lost her monkey there, and it was closed two days before she admitted making it up (one option is false). (playful, unsure) — 00:00:37

Mentioned

Central: misinformation · Truth or Fail

Also: Balloon boy hoax · Edgar Allan Poe · Richard Heene · Statue of Liberty · The Balloon-Hoax · YouTube

Also centred on misinformation: The Top 10 Greatest Hoaxes of All Time · Is Obama a Muslim? Examine the Evidence! · Somebody once told me… · My Greatest Tool Against Vaccine Misinformation · Are You Eating a Credit Card Every Week? · I Believed These Four Lies

Also centred on Truth or Fail: Truth or Fail! START HERE · TRUTH OR FAIL!!! (START HERE) (re-try...with more info) · TRUTH OR FAIL!!! Episode 2 (New and Improved) · Truth or Fail with John! Famous Authors Edition · Twitter Games and Truth or Fail · Truth or Fail: John Green Books

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