Debunked

Quiz

BuzzFeed News Reporter

News

Find out if you kept your grip on reality after the year we've had.

If You Get 41/55 On This Quiz, Fake News Didn't Fool You This Year

This hoax, [citing very shaky "evidence,"](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/a-false-conspiracy-about-melania-trump-using-a-body-double?utm_term=.phjv1za5bn#.ay8QRyB4Wv) went viral in October. There is no proof Melania Trump has a body double.

It's fake!

First lady Melania Trump has a body double.

Fox News really did run a graphic that said, "Eventually we will get something done," [Snopes reports](https://www.snopes.com/president-trump-say-eventually-will-get-something-done/). Trump was talking about the death of the Republican health care bill.

It's real!

Is the image in this tweet real or fake?

The tweet went viral in October, but [it used a stolen photo](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/un-bear-ably-fake). The bear is actually from Avon, Connecticut.

This photo shows a bear visiting a backyard in Ontario, Canada.

This tweet went viral in October, but the photo is from [a 2014 Daily Mail story](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2539136/The-eight-year-old-Wisconsin-girl-pet-coyote-called-Wiley.html) about a family who domesticated Wiley, the coyote in the picture.

This picture shows a coyote that was mistaken for a dog by a well-meaning family.

After Comey's firing, many Twitter users said the only other president to fire an FBI director was Nixon. However, that isn't true and the library [tweeted to correct the record](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/nixon-fun-fact?utm_term=.gmGkNR1Pqe#.xoB9Mrn1d7).

The Richard Nixon Library tweeted that Nixon never fired the director of the FBI after Donald Trump fired James Comey.

Smirnoff's campaign [really went there](http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/06/13/smirnoff-vodka-trolls-trump-in-new-outdoor-ad-campaign.html).

Is this image real or fake?

This November hoax [had people rooting for the fictional lady](http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/elderly-woman-accused-of-training-her-65-cats-to-steal-from-neighbors/), but it's not real.

It's fake mews!

An 83-year-old woman got arrested for training cats to steal from her neighbors.

Hours after the deadly disaster, [pro-Trump Twitter commentators began baselessly pushing the narrative](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/antifa-amtrak-alt-right?utm_term=.ea4pW7Mg68#.iaKZODzomV) that the anti-fascist group was responsible before any details emerged.

The Amtrak train crash in December was caused by members of Antifa, who sabotaged the tracks.

This hoax came at the height of the bitcoin craze, but it was published by a website that labels itself as satire. People [still rooted for the man](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/free-the-bitcoin-guy?utm_term=.uwDzYyBZrw#.rdRjA4J5YQ), though.

A man became a millionaire and got arrested after selling Chuck E. Cheese tokens as bitcoins.

Forecast hoaxes became so popular this year that [meteorologists had to warn people about them](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1961375580800339&set=a.1490287757909126.1073741827.100007837487230&theater=&type=3). Real forecasts show only a five-day period.

This image shows the path Hurricane Irma was supposed to take after making landfall.

This is a recurring hoax that's been around for years, but it made a comeback in August as Hurricane Harvey hit Texas. This time, [people photoshopped a bunch of photos in tribute to Hurricane Shark](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/houston-to-florida-shark?utm_term=.nfq7NaQLoq#.dnAjzpMYkv).

This image shows a shark swimming in the street during Hurricane Harvey.

A website owned by Laura Ingraham, a Fox News host, published a misleading headline that immediately got picked up by Trump supporters seeking to discredit reports of the assault. However, [the witness did not change her story](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/no-the-montana-body-slam-witness-did-not-change-her-story?utm_term=.bsxy4k602K#.sepoKVQEM8). Instead, she said she's unsure of where the candidates' hands were specifically when the assault took place.

The woman who witnessed a reporter being "body slammed" by a Republican frontrunner in the spring Montana election later changed her story and discredited accounts of the assault.

This fake news hit from the summer was [a copy of a previous viral hoax](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/this-old-hoax-about-a-strip-club-shutting-down-due-to-a?utm_term=.ddo6zqp3lL#.stK5KoGN94) about a Florida strip club. The story is completely made up.

A strip club in Canada was shut down because of a diarrhea outbreak that was caused by food at the buffet.

This hoax from July was all the rage on the Russian internet. The original photo shows world leaders gathered around an empty chair; [Putin was photoshopped in](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/fake-putin-g20-photo?utm_term=.ouLd3gkM5N#.ubX8ZVBXEl).

This is a photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin at G20. The caption says, "the international isolation of Putin, I think, didn't fully work."

The same image showing empty bus seats [caused a similar uproar](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/bus-seat-burqas?utm_term=.seKJaRR546#.mneyQppAGN) in a Swedish anti-immigrant group, too.

Members of a Norwegian anti-immigrant Facebook group thought the image below showed women in burqas.

People on Twitter lost it when they thought they'd learned the name Arby's stands for roast beef. [A spokesperson for the restaurant confirmed to BuzzFeed News](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/people-lost-it-when-they-thought-arbys-is-a-way-of-saying?utm_term=.brOxRWMej2#.ldzb8K1ByE) the name comes from the initials of the founders (RB).

Arby's is another way of saying roast beef.

Kerry is known for bringing his dog to work. One reporter [joked](https://www.buzzfeed.com/hayesbrown/get-it-diplomutt-it-is-a-pun?utm_term=.ohDXlqq67W#.dq3LZzzey4), “Finally, someone with some intelligence at the podium.”

Former secretary of state John Kerry brought his dog Ben to his final press conference.

The telegram is a fake, but [Fortune magazine fell for the telegram](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/a-magazine-fell-for-a-fake-mcdonalds-telegram-telling?utm_term=.ti8pjYZyVK#.ff7eAbGrlV) and had to publish a correction.

After an errant tweet from McDonald's called Donald Trump "a disgusting excuse of a president," someone unearthed a telegram the fast food restaurant sent to Richard Nixon. It said "retire bitch."

The [banner was photoshopped](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/kremlin-banner-photoshopped?utm_term=.bxxLz47Jmq#.hsGbPd0OKJ), which the activists themselves confirmed. But there really was a protest near the Kremlin in March.

Feminists hung a banner on the Kremlin during a protest that said, "National idea — feminism."

"But also from the standpoint of sexual assault. When the lights are on, when you have light that shines, the righteousness, if you will, on those types of acts. So from the standpoint of how you really affect people's lives, fossil fuels is going to play a role in that. I happen to think it's going to play a positive role," [he said in November.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/zahrahirji/rick-perry-somehow-links-fossil-fuels-to-sexual-assault?utm_term=.vrRjWwwLBl#.srlJqGG1na)

Rick Perry, the energy secretary, said fossil fuels can help prevent sexual assault by keeping the lights on.

This hoax was so popular it [went viral](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/nap-in-the-morgue?utm_term=.txEQlqr1yZ#.ieDYPB2jpy) twice this year, but it was published by a website that only runs fake stories and labels itself as satire.

A man was cremated while taking a nap at the morgue.

This photo went viral back in January, but [the original was taken in 2015](https://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/no-the-white-house-was-not-lit-up-in-rainbow-colors-for-obam?utm_term=.mw8P1dd9Wa#.ow0QXVV0Mn).

The White House donned rainbow colours for former president Obama's last night in office.

This disinformation started circulating within a couple of hours of the deadly shooting. [Here's how it spread.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/how-a-false-conspiracy-theory-about-the-texas-shooter-being?utm_term=.fdKPZpWYmV#.mmb35bEPO1)

Devin Patrick Kelley, the man who opened fire in a Texas church, was a member of the anti-fascist group known as antifa.

A completely made-up quote from Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price made the rounds in March and [pissed a lot of people off](https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/a-trump-cabinet-member-did-not-say-its-better-for-our?utm_term=.niEb3ppeRo#.urlLoOOklq). It was published by a fake news website.

A Trump official said, “It’s Better For Our Budget If Cancer Patients Die More Quickly.”

The post was published [by a website claiming to be satirical](https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/dont-fall-for-this-hoax-about-irish-mob-midgets-who-went-on?utm_term=.jtDzwrreMX#.bmdXz55Lla) and started spreading in April.

"Irish mob midgets" went on a crime spree in Boston.

Police pulled over a car heading to Hanover and [found 5,000 Trump-shaped pills in August.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/hayesbrown/mdmaga?utm_term=.yhDxNrrYOX#.mqze677Xy0)

German police seized 5,000 tablets of ecstasy shaped like Donald Trump's head.

The horse was [castrated for being unable to focus on his work](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/donald-trump-horse-now-fake-news?utm_term=.txb0788Lv9#.rsmKR99ZE0), and had to be re-christened because South Africa's National Horseracing Authority said the horse's name was "problematic".

A racehorse named Donald Trump was renamed Fake News after being castrated for bad behavior.

The photoshopped image first appeared on 4chan, and [fooled a lot of people.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/franciswhittaker/merkel-in-saudi-debunk?utm_term=.ma2NL55y2O#.tsXqJYYKmd)

Saudi TV censored the German chancellor's hair when airing footage of her visit.

This photo was shared by thousands of people, but the women in the photo are [members of the South Korean–Chinese band Cosmic Girls, also known as WJSN.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/kassycho/make-them-billionaires-buy-their-album?utm_term=.sydoX550Be#.cjGDZ22r0k)

Two wealthy Chinese lesbians got married in April, making them the richest couple alive.

Three days after the bombing in August, Sebastian Gorka, a Trump adviser, [said that the attack](https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhiprakash/gorka-minneapolis-mosque-hate-crime?utm_term=.buoXVrr0WO#.giQORDDoGy) could be a "fake hate crime."

A top Trump adviser said the bombing of a Minnesota mosque could be a "fake hate crime."

The man in this viral tweet [is actually a Trump impersonator.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/ur-a-disgrace-to-this-world-fake?utm_term=.dt6X8MMLQq#.wh3DYgg0Ne)

A little girl told Trump he's "a disgrace to the world."

Police initially thought they were responding to a robbery, [AP reported in May](https://apnews.com/865baf4d99c5429481051dd2a67989e7?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_medium=AP_Oddities&utm_source=Twitter), but then found out the house was owned by the woman's former husband.

A woman damaged $350,000 worth of artwork, antiques, and other items in her ex-husband's home.

Yes, the company [renamed the War Room the Peace Room](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-13/uber-ceo-to-take-leave-diminished-role-after-workplace-scandals) in June.

In the wake of several scandals, Uber took steps to change its corporate culture. One of those steps was renaming its War Room to the Peace Room.

This fake news was [part of a campaign](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/washington-redhawks-stunt?utm_term=.phQ1wXXEPz#.sydoX550Be) by Rising Hearts, a women-led Indigenous group based in Washington. Their goal was to show how easy it would be to change the name from what's today considered a racial slur.

The Washington Redskins changed their name to the Washington Redhawks.

Far-right media personalities took extraordinary measures to stop migrants from getting to Italy. They shot flares at migrant boats and acquired a ship to take matters into their own hands. [Here's the full story from August](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/identitarians-get-a-boat?utm_term=.nv0GZVVlvM#.xhRNXrrG8J).

Far-right YouTube personalities got a boat to stop refugees from reaching Europe.

The tweet looked like a goodbye statement from the newly fired official. [It was a joke](https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimdalrympleii/no-fired-fbi-director-james-comey-didnt-tweet-the-pee-tape?utm_term=.juXe3MMK02#.puQ5BZZLpm), but some people mistook it for the real deal.

Former FBI director James Comey tweeted that "the pee tape is real."

That's the banner MSNBC went with during Sean Spicer's disastrous press conference in April.

Trump [blamed bad cell service](https://www.buzzfeed.com/salvadorhernandez/cell-phone-service-bad?utm_term=.wlbVmRRl5k#.mmYkmMMvVR) for his waiting three days to call Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

Donald Trump said he took days to call the president of Mexico after the deadly earthquake in September because he had bad reception.

This story was [published by a fake news website](https://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/man-sex-meth-crocodile?utm_term=.cpj5gMMjLQ#.frX8vnnZNa) and it's not true. Sorry.

A dude died after smoking meth and having sex with a crocodile.

In the aftermath of the attack, [an old video passed off as recent](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/no-londoners-didnt-chant-donald-trump-we-love-you-after-the?utm_term=.oiPXexxD6Y#.gpjyQNNl6Y) made the rounds among Trump supporters.

People chanted "Donald Trump, we love you" after the June London Bridge attack.

The man first said he was stabbed by a black man because he looked like a neo-Nazi, but after investigating police said [Joshua Witt stabbed himself.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/nidhiprakash/this-man-says-he-was-mistaken-for-a-neo-nazi-and-stabbed?utm_term=.aar38l4zxQ#.egMWJykabY)

A man who said he was stabbed for his "neo-Nazi haircut" actually stabbed himself accidentally.

The viral hoax started in a satirical Spanish-language publication and then [made the rounds](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/spanish-woman-pretending-to-be-blind-fake?utm_term=.vcxoLAAOqZ#.nb0X5JJV8w) on unreliable English-language websites.

Its fake!

A Spanish woman faked being blind for 28 years to avoid social interactions.

Many people were [obsessed](https://www.buzzfeed.com/remysmidt/the-audicity-of-nope-taupe?utm_term=.miomQnnZ23#.jtDzwrreMX) with the troll potential of Obama's official portrait showing him in [a beige suit](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/11062760/Barack-Obama-mocked-for-wearing-taupe-suit-in-White-House-address.html) and believed the photo. However, a spokesperson for the former president told BuzzFeed News that the image is NOT Obama's official White House portrait.

This is Obama's official White House portrait.

Rogen sent Trump Jr. direct messages on Twitter in February and [posted screenshots.](http://mashable.com/2017/10/12/seth-rogen-donald-trump-jr-sexual-assault-dm/#J3iL8dNRXkql)

Seth Rogen messaged Donald Trump Jr. to ask him to tell Donald Trump to step down.

Ottawa police told BuzzFeed News the rally had 300 to 400 people. US pro-Trump publications [greatly exaggerated the number](https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/us-conservative-outlets-exaggerate-protest-size-in-ottawa?utm_term=.qrZNaJJDZA#.eyd3wXXVOa).

Thousands of participants came out for a pro-Trump, anti-Trudeau rally in Canada's capital in June.

During a deposition for his custody trial in April, Jones said he couldn't remember basic facts about his kids [because he "had a big bowl of chili for lunch."](https://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/alex-jones-and-the-dark-new-media-are-on-trial-in-texas?utm_term=.bk9ApVVjl5#.fkaN1LL6Rl)

Radio host Alex Jones said he couldn't remember basic facts about his children because he had a big bowl of chili for lunch.

Russia [created a website](http://www.mid.ru/ru/nedostovernie-publikacii/-/asset_publisher/nTzOQTrrCFd0/content/id/2652709) to expose Western fake news about the country, but it mostly includes unfavourable articles. The New York Times covered the new site and itself got [labeled as "fake news."](https://www.buzzfeed.com/franciswhittaker/russia-just-set-up-a-website-to-expose-western-media-stories?utm_term=.urlLoOOklq#.qwYmjGGnVg)

After the New York Times wrote an article about Russia labeling articles it doesn't like "fake news," Russia labeled that article fake news.

This hoax has been around since Willis went on Fallon's show in 2015, but the actor [did not speak about his political affiliations.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/janelytvynenko/bruce-wiggis?utm_term=.clbdq1103P#.itnPNJJR0L)

Bruce Willis spoke in support of President Trump in a Jimmy Fallon interview.

[The Guardian reported in February](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/suspect-north-korea-killing-thought-she-was-taking-part-in-tv-prank-indonesia-siti-aisyah-police-kim-jong-nam) that the 25-year-old suspect was paid to be involved in pranks like "convincing men to close their eyes and spray them with water," the report said. Kim Jong-nam was the last target and the woman was unaware that there was a dangerous substance in the water.

Malaysian authorities said the woman they arrested for killing Korean dictator Kim Jong Un's half-brother was tricked into thinking she was part of a comedy show prank.

The man's pose [has nothing to do with the activity he was engaged in before dying](https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/this-viral-pompeii-masturbator-photo-is-a-lie?utm_term=.uxZM0ZZgVv#.cdWq8WW1ox), according to a volcanologist who studies the Pompeii victims. Bodies were frequently distorted by heat from the lava.

This photo shows a guy who died while masturbating during the volcano eruption in Pompeii.

Bloomberg [reported in February](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-16/kremlin-said-to-tell-media-to-cut-back-on-fawning-trump-coverage) that state-run media outlets were told by the Kremlin to pipe down about Trump.

Russian state media outlets were told by the Kremlin to stop fawning over Donald Trump.

The captions are [not real](https://www.buzzfeed.com/matwhitehead/make-america-gay-again?utm_term=.gaRdx66zL3#.twqVA773G4). The scene is from _Soap Studs 2_, and the official synopsis says, “Brenner Bolton has a devious plan to steal Noah Jones’ family wealth, and it begins with a quick lay.”

A scene in a gay porn movie featured anti-Trump foreplay.

The first lady's account [definitely liked that tweet.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/claudiakoerner/melania-trumps-twitter-account-liked-a-pretty-shady-tweet?utm_term=.jyvWqKKjMG#.wxrBdQQrEe)

Melania Trump's Twitter account liked a tweet that jokingly talked about the "wall" Donald Trump had built between him and the first lady.

Spicer apologized for his [comments](https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliareinstein/sean-spicer-said-even-hitler-didnt-use-chemical-weapons?utm_term=.aydLEyy3jJ#.bcxZXbbAB9) in April after the press conference, but that didn't stop fake news sites from [milking them.](https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/how-fake-news-sites-sean-spicers-real-comments?utm_term=.sqRovGGY0b#.sv3YPmmMz6)

Sean Spicer posted this status after he said Hitler did not use chemical weapons.

Canadian Daniel Macduff launched a class-action lawsuit against Sunwing for advertising "champagne service" but providing an inferior sparkling wine on board, [the National Post reported in October.](http://nationalpost.com/news/quebec-man-launches-class-action-over-airlines-champagne-service-that-offers-ordinary-sparkling-wine)

A man is suing an airline for serving him sparkling wine instead of champagne.

You're still learning how to stay afloat of fake news, but don't worry, you got this. Read up on how it spreads and what to look for so you can make a splash in the new year.

You're drowning in fake news !

You were buried in fake news this year, but little by little you learned what to look for and started digging your way out. That's a great start! Take what you learned and bring it with you into 2018.

You're digging your way out of fake news!

You sniffed for clues and looked closely, making you a fake news detective. So what if you couldn't crack a few cases? Sherlock wasn't built in a day.

You're a fake news detective!

You took up arms against fake news this year. Only a few stories have gotten by you, but your arsenal is strong. You're ready to run into battle again in 2018.

You're slaying fake news!

Congratulations! Fake news didn't fool you this year. You got the rare perfect result and you're unstoppable. Go out there and do some good, superhero.

You're a fake news superhero!

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