- 11 hours ago
Don't believe everything you see online! Join us as we expose the most shocking viral videos that had the entire internet completely fooled. Our list includes staged stunts, clever CGI trickery, and brilliantly crafted marketing ploys, from Gordon Ramsay's "Idiot Sandwich" meme and Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding car, to the infamous Golden Eagle snatching a child!
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00:00If I were a betting man, I'd probably bet a little over 50% that it's real.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at fake, scripted, or planned viral videos that took the internet by storm.
00:11Jay had them apple-bottom jeans, boots with the fur.
00:17Idiot Sandwich.
00:18Back when you were first on our show, your first ever appearance, we did a sketch.
00:22Yeah, myself, you, and Julie Chen, and there was a very, very popular meme came out of that sketch.
00:31Let's remind everybody of what we're talking about.
00:33Sure, this one might be a bit of a cheat, but we think you'll see what we mean.
00:37In this 2015 sketch on The Late Late Show with James Corden,
00:41celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay brings his signature volcanic temper from Hell's Kitchen
00:46into the comparatively harmless world of late night.
00:49Facing off against James Corden and Big Brother host, Julie Chen Moonves,
00:55Ramsay escalates the bit to absurd heights,
00:58ultimately sandwiching Chen Moonves' face between two slices of bread
01:02and demanding she call herself an idiot sandwich.
01:13Stripped of its late-night parody framing,
01:15the clip circulated as a meme and was widely mistaken for an authentic Hell's Kitchen outburst.
01:21We'd be at a book signing, and you're signing the book and say,
01:24may I?
01:24I said, may you what?
01:25They just take out two slices of bread from their satchel.
01:28And they say, can you call me an idiot sandwich?
01:31Arctic launch party goes wrong.
01:33Well, the oil company Shell is getting ready to start pumping oil out of the Arctic.
01:38Supposedly, to celebrate,
01:39they had a private party at the Space Needle in Seattle.
01:43Now, the wife of the late engineer that designed the offshore oil rig that's going to do it
01:47was called to the front of the table.
01:49In 2012, Greenpeace rolled out a media stunt aimed squarely at Royal Dutch Shell
01:55and its Arctic offshore drilling push.
01:58The polished spoof site ArcticReady.com grabbed headlines first,
02:02mimicking Shell's branding and inviting users to create their own catastrophe-themed Arctic ads.
02:08But that website was only the entry point.
02:11The real momentum came from how Greenpeace expanded the illusion.
02:15Charles, yeah?
02:17It's not coming out.
02:18That's just...
02:21Just go over it.
02:22You can't hurt it.
02:24Oh my goodness!
02:26What are you doing?
02:28Oh my God!
02:29Oh my God!
02:29Oh my God!
02:29Oh my God!
02:29Oh my God!
02:30Oh my God!
02:31Oh my God!
02:31Oh my God!
02:33Oh my God!
02:33Oh my God!
02:34Oh my God!
02:34Turn it off!
02:34A staged YouTube clip surfaced showing what appeared to be an official Shell press event.
02:40During the demonstration, a miniature oil rig suddenly gushes dark liquid,
02:44turning a corporate presentation into slapstick disaster.
02:48The video was convincing enough to blur the line between parody and reality,
02:52drawing hundreds of thousands of views.
02:54The activists are hoping to point out the dangers of oil drilling in a pristine area
03:00like the Arctic, saying that if Shell can't control a drink dispenser, how are they going
03:05to control...
03:06So this wasn't really a Shell party?
03:08No.
03:09Okay.
03:09It's not.
03:10But it was portrayed that way and it's been spreading through the internet.
03:13Exhibit B5.
03:15Cherry here, obviously.
03:16Uh, I'm assuming that you, Rachel, are watching this with me and our friends, probably drinking
03:22beer.
03:23Um, it is October 30th, and if, uh, if everything has gone according to plan, then you, my sweet,
03:31sweet, illustrious roomie, have been officially punked.
03:36If you were online long enough, you probably saw Exhibit B5 making the rounds.
03:41The clip looks disturbing.
03:43A young woman appears to be terrified by a prank, bolts into the street, and is struck
03:47by a car.
03:49Posts framed it as real footage, and even claimed it had been entered as courtroom evidence
03:53under the ominous label Exhibit B5.
03:57Here's the reality.
03:58It wasn't real.
03:59You making a movie?
04:00Ha ha ha!
04:01I don't have my face on.
04:03Hey, um, I need a really favor.
04:05Do that again!
04:07I scare thee!
04:09How's that, huh?
04:10No, you look like Al-Qaeda.
04:13How realistic do you want this to be?
04:15Seriously.
04:16Upon further analysis, the video was revealed as a staged production featuring actors.
04:21Said star Cindy Vela on her official Facebook page, quote,
04:25This was not a reenactment of a real story, not an advertisement, and not for marketing of
04:31another film.
04:32The Exhibit B5 tag was simply a dramatic flourish meant to give the clip legal weight and credibility.
04:42Snowboarder Girl Chased by Bear
04:53A clip went viral claiming to show a snowboarder cruising down a Japanese slope, only to realize
04:58later that a bear was chasing her the whole time.
05:01The description made it sound like real GoPro footage.
05:04She's oblivious, singing along to music, and then boom, a bear in pursuit.
05:18However, fact checkers at Snopes found that the bear doesn't behave or sound like something
05:23caught in the wild.
05:25The audio stays unnervingly clear no matter how far away the bear seems to be, and slowing
05:30the video down reveals animation cues that don't mesh with real animal motion.
05:44Further digging pointed to the Woolshed Company, an Australian production company behind several
05:49viral clips like this one, creative experiments designed to spark debate about what people will
05:54believe online.
05:56Kobe Bryant makes an unbelievable jump.
05:59Don't worry about it.
06:00Don't worry about it.
06:01I got it.
06:02I got it.
06:03I will be there.
06:04I will be there perfectly healthy.
06:07I got this.
06:08I got this.
06:10You trust your boy?
06:11You trust your boy?
06:12The viral video showing NBA star Kobe Bryant leaping over a moving Aston Martin DB9 Volante
06:19in 2008 looked jaw-dropping.
06:22And that was the point.
06:24The clip was part of a Nike marketing push for the Hyperdunk shoe, designed to blur the
06:29line between outrageous stunt and believable athletic feet.
06:32I told you, March 31st, 2008, baby.
06:36That is how you jump over an Aston Martin, boy.
06:40That's how you do it.
06:41Hyperdunks.
06:42Do not try this at home.
06:43At the time, the footage spread quickly online, with many viewers assuming Bryant had actually
06:49cleared a speeding luxury convertible in real time.
06:52But automotive outlets and skeptics immediately raised red flags.
06:57The angles were too clean, the timing too precise, and the risk factor far beyond what an NBA superstar
07:04under contract would realistically attempt.
07:06Kobe didn't deny it either.
07:08When asked by a reporter how he made the jump, he simply responded, Hollywood, baby.
07:13You're not putting yourself in unnecessary danger, I hope.
07:16It's Hollywood.
07:17What did you expect out here?
07:20That's how you're giving me?
07:22Hawk Drops Snake.
07:23Oh, there's a hawk.
07:25There's a hawk.
07:27There's a hawk.
07:28It's a hawk.
07:38Oh.
07:39In early 2016, a jaw-dropping video out of Melbourne went viral.
07:45A family is gathered around a backyard barbecue when a hawk suddenly swoops overhead and drops
07:50a writhing snake.
07:52Chaos erupts.
07:53People scream.
08:02But as later reporting revealed, it was all a calculated marketing stunt tied to the Hawthorne
08:08Football Club and their 2016 AFL Finals push.
08:12The campaign theme was Embrace the Hunt, playing on the team's hawk's nickname.
08:16The video was produced by the Woolshed Company, and subtle details in the footage, including
08:21football references, were deliberate Easter eggs.
08:31Ronaldinho's Touch of Gold Nike ad.
08:41Before viral marketing was even a phrase people used casually, legendary footballer Ronaldinho
08:47and Nike broke the internet.
08:49In 2005, the sporting apparel giant released the Touch of Gold commercial to promote a special
08:55edition Tiempo boot.
08:56Filmed at FC Barcelona's training ground, the ad shows Ronaldinho casually volleying a ball
09:02with a crossbar, and then doing it again, and again.
09:14The ball appears magnetized to the bar, rebounding perfectly back to his feet in what looks like
09:20one seamless, unbroken take.
09:22The clip exploded online and is often credited as one of YouTube's earliest mega viral sports
09:28videos.
09:28While Ronaldinho absolutely possessed the technical ability to hit a crossbar repeatedly, the commercial
09:34presentation stitched together multiple takes to heighten the illusion.
09:49Jessica and Mr. Wilson.
09:51Looking at her.
09:54She's a Jessica!
09:55Did you sleep with your goddamn teacher?
09:59What?
09:59At first glance, this viral clip looks like pure chaos.
10:02A young woman films herself singing along to Flo Rida and T-Pain's Lowe when an older woman
10:08storms into the room.
10:10What follows is a screaming match, a slap, and Jessica being dramatically kicked out, only
10:15for her to calmly resume singing seconds later.
10:18You're out of the house!
10:22Castle, you're out!
10:24Castle, you're sick!
10:26You're out!
10:27The whiplash alone made it meme gold.
10:29But despite how real and uncomfortable it feels, this wasn't a leaked family meltdown
10:34or proof of a disturbing scandal.
10:37The video originated as a scripted social media comedy sketch.
10:40The exaggerated confrontation, the perfectly timed interruption, and Jessica's deadpan return
10:46to the song were all part of the joke.
10:48So if the pole I got in my bankroll, I'm going to say that I prefer no clothes.
10:52I mean, I love women exposed.
10:54Burning Man GoPro.
10:55This video begins with a wide and gorgeous drone shot of Burning Man, but the view is
11:01ruined when the camera falls to the ground.
11:08It's then picked up by a masked man who high-fives his buddy and takes it to the concert.
11:25According to the video description, the GoPro randomly dropped off the drone and was eventually
11:30taken to the lost and found.
11:32It looks quite convincing, but this was actually created by an Australian production studio
11:37called The Woolshed Company.
11:40Remember them from earlier?
11:41The video was part of a wider social experiment that was meant to study the shareability of
11:46videos without significant promotion.
11:49Suffice to say, it worked.
11:51This GoPro video alone has well over 4 million views.
11:58Stormtrooper Falls Down Stairs
12:00Released in the summer of 2015, this video has garnered over 10 million views and hundreds
12:07of thousands of likes.
12:08The concept is simple.
12:10A man dressed as a stormtrooper valiantly marches down some stairs to the sounds of the Star Wars
12:15theme.
12:16However, the music hilariously cuts out as the man trips and falls down the remaining steps.
12:32Maybe the stunt itself was real, but the video was planned.
12:36Attentive viewers may notice that this was uploaded by a user named Terry Tufferson.
12:40This is the same account that uploaded the Burning Man GoPro video.
12:45Seeing a pattern?
12:45Yep, this video was also created by The Woolshed Company, and it certainly won't be the last
12:51time they appear on this list.
13:00Sydney Lightning Strike
13:01Told you it wouldn't be the last time you saw Woolshed.
13:04The company strikes again with this viral video, which is wonderfully titled,
13:09Lightning Almost Strikes Girl in Sydney Boyfriend's Reaction is Priceless.
13:13It shows a woman walking on a rocky Australian beach when a bolt of lightning strikes just
13:19feet away.
13:26This causes the boyfriend to run and scream in hilariously indiscernible language.
13:32Woolshed certainly knows how to make a funny video, that's for sure.
13:36This one isn't even that complex.
13:38They just needed some CGI lightning and a funny voice actor, and they were off to the
13:42viral video races.
13:50This is a video we'd all love to believe.
13:54It takes place at a petting zoo, and opens with a screaming goat thrashing around in the
13:58water.
13:59Just when all hope seems lost, a pig swims into view and nudges the goat back towards
14:05its land. Effectively saving its life.
14:14It's heartwarming, it's adorable, what's not to love?
14:18Well, how about the fact that it's complete nonsense?
14:21Yep, this video was staged and made for the Comedy Central series Nathan For You.
14:26During the first couple attempts, the pig kept slipping out of the divers' hands. So we decided
14:31to build an underwater track out of PVC to guide the pig, like a bowling ball going down a bumper
14:35lane.
14:36The hoax was seen by millions and was even picked up by many reputable sources, including
14:41Nightly News and Good Morning America. Suffice to say, Nathan did indeed fool us all.
14:47And there he is, the hero pig.
14:49Crazy guy runs into Outback Tornado to take selfie. Everyone knows this video. It's a classic. An
14:56Australian man spots a tornado in the Outback and gets very excited about it. He decides to get
15:02closer and actually runs out of his car to film himself next to the tornado. What follows is the
15:07stuff of meme legend.
15:09That is cute! That is absolutely cute!
15:14But when sussing out fake videos, a good idea is to always look at the uploader. Once again,
15:20this video was posted by Terry Tufferson, who claims it was sent to him by a fan. Yeah,
15:26there is no fan. This is once again the work of the Woolshed Company, and it was made to promote
15:30a found footage movie called Into the Storm.
15:33Oh shit!
15:39German Ducks
15:40There's just something about animal videos that the internet devours with reckless abandon.
15:45They're adorable, what can we say? In this one, a German man films some ducks that are waiting
15:51to cross the road. Once the crossing light changes to walk, the ducks calmly stroll across the street
15:56to the other side.
16:00Right away, red flags should be popping up. Despite the video screaming fake, it quickly spread
16:06through social media and amassed millions of views and likes. As it turns out, it was nothing but a
16:12cute educational video made by a marketing company called Ed Zarland. Ducks are cute and all, but we
16:18don't know if they're smart enough to use crosswalks.
16:23Megawoosh. This video goes all the way back to the internet dark ages. 2009. It was a different time,
16:30one in which we easily fell for silly stuff like this. Megawoosh shows a man named Bruno Camerl
16:36sliding down a gigantic water slide, flying through the air, and landing in a small inflatable pool.
16:48This video was made to advertise Microsoft and it was entirely fake. Well, not entirely. The man at
16:55the top of the slide and the splashing water were real. The man flying through the air was entirely
17:00animated. Combine them with clever camera tricks and editing and you have yourself one of the greatest
17:05viral videos in internet history. Bear attack. Everyone knows this one. Uploaded in 2014, it has
17:15amassed over 38 million views and counting. You know how it goes. A man is riding his bike through
17:21the woods when he's suddenly accosted by a giant bear. The bear chases the biker for some time,
17:34but the man is eventually forced to abandon the bike. He then hides from the bear in the foliage,
17:38and viewers tense up in anticipation. Millions of people watched the video and their hearts were
17:44racing just as fast as the bikers. Of course, his was beating from the exercise, not the fear,
17:50because there was nothing to fear. The bear wasn't real and was quite obviously added in post.
17:56Greatest freakout ever. There's nothing like a good gamer freakout. As the title suggests,
18:01this is the best of them all. Uploaded by Waffle Pwn, the video depicts a young boy having the
18:07tantrum of his life after his World of Warcraft account was cancelled.
18:18The boy screeches and flails like he's possessed, hits himself in the head with a shoe, and puts a
18:24remote control somewhere that it definitely does not belong. This video became insanely popular,
18:30but alas, it was all staged. In fact, Waffle Pwn went on to make an entire greatest freakout ever
18:36series with his brother, who is very much in on the joke.
18:39Fulfill me once, shame on me! Fulfill me twice, shame on me! Fulfill me three times, go away!
18:46Go! Back off!
18:48Stop! Do not put the-
18:49Back off!
18:50Ultimate selfie stick fight.
18:52Our old friend Terry Tufferson strikes again with this video, which was uploaded in July of 2015.
18:58A man shows off the yacht he's riding on and gazes at the beautiful views of Sydney Harbor.
19:03But that's not the best of it. Before long, a fight breaks out on deck between two men who beat
19:08each other with selfie sticks. The fight ends in gloriously exciting fashion, when one of the men
19:14lifts the other and throws him overboard. Ironically, this is when the video itself goes overboard.
19:27If the questionable acting didn't tip you off, then surely that did. It's a funny video, but it's 100%
19:34staged by the Woolshed Company. Man fights off great white shark.
19:38Woolshed has uploaded a good number of fake viral videos, but this is probably their greatest work.
19:44Uploaded once again by Terry Tufferson, this one shows a man going for a little dive in Sydney Harbor.
19:55Almost immediately after landing in the water, he's accosted by a great white shark.
20:02The video title claims that the man fights off the shark, when he really just screams in panic and
20:07waves it away a couple of times. Still scary, but still very fake. There's some clever editing involved
20:13in stitching the footage together, but at no time was that swimmer in danger. The video has amassed
20:18over 40 million views on YouTube, which probably makes it one of the most popular fake videos ever
20:23made. Ultimate batting practice. And some people say baseball is a boring sport. Having amassed over
20:307 million views, this video is exceptionally made. A softball player hits a ball into a pitchback.
20:37It then bounces off numerous other pitchbacks before making its way to the batter,
20:42who hits it back to the first pitchback and starts the whole thing over again.
20:53The video features some nearly flawless editing, but there are mistakes that signal it as fake.
20:59The ball hits the first pitchback in the exact same place, and the bat makes the exact same noise
21:05every single time.
21:13Plus, the second ball disappears in a very unrealistic manner after he hits it into the outfield.
21:18Still a great effort, though.
21:20One more!
21:21Yeah! That was crazy!
21:26McLaren windshield smash.
21:27Don't you hate bad camera work? This very famous viral video shows the windshield of an
21:33orange McLaren getting smashed by a passing skateboarder. Well, no, it doesn't show that exactly.
21:43The cameraman films the car driving up, and then we only hear the smashing.
21:48People did a lot of digging to prove that this video was fake, like tracking down the uploader and
21:52discovering that he works at a company that rents out exotic cars. Hmm.
21:57He later admitted that the video was indeed fake. The car belonged to his company,
22:01and its windshield was already cracked from a previous accident. He just decided to have
22:06some fun with some friends, and the resulting video went mega viral.
22:14Walking on Water
22:16It's been a legend for millennia, and here it is right in front of our eyes.
22:20It's easy to see why this video has amassed over 15 million views. It was uploaded by the UlfG,
22:26who claims in the description that they have invented a new sport called liquid mountaineering.
22:35In other words, walking on water. The video is very well made, and yes, it shows men running on
22:40water with the help of so-called water-repellent equipment. Sadly, this feat is still impossible.
22:46Maybe in another couple of decades we'll have the technology.
22:49No, this video was made by a company called Hitech Sports,
22:52and they pulled off the optical illusion with the help of an underwater platform.
23:01Gyro Drop Tower
23:02We all love a scary roller coaster, but a balance must be found between safety and the illusion of
23:08danger. We wouldn't go on them if we actually thought we would die. And then there is Korea's
23:13supposed gyro drop tower. The tower extends and doubles its own size before dropping the riders
23:20into a free fall. They then swing around the pole at insane speeds before retracting back into the
23:33ride and quickly dropping to the ground. If it all seems a little outlandish, that's because it is.
23:43Someone has added CGI trickery to an existing ride in Seoul called the Gyro Drop.
23:52The very beginning of the video is real. The extending tower and everything after is pure digital animation.
23:59Lonely Girl 15 YouTube was changed forever in June 2006. That's when Lonely Girl 15 started vlogging,
24:07and her story quickly captivated millions of viewers. Lonely Girl 15 was supposedly a teenager named Brie,
24:14who slowly revealed a terrifying and exciting truth about her personal life.
24:18Well, what you need to know about my town is that it's really boring. The story went in some insane
24:22places, and millions were glued to YouTube, anxiously awaiting the next vlog. In essence,
24:28Lonely Girl 15 is massively influential in the spheres of web series, vlogging, and professional
24:34YouTubing. It's not a huge problem. I don't consider any of this a huge problem. And that is just what
24:40it was.
24:40Lonely Girl 15 was nothing but a fictional web show starring Jessica Lee Rose as the titular
24:45character. For a while there, they actually had us fooled.
24:49I went to a party with Daniel.
24:53And he kissed me.
24:54Worst twerk fail ever. You all know how it goes. A woman is twerking against the door in her apartment
25:00when someone walks in, causing the woman to crash into the nearby table.
25:11The woman's pants soon catch fire, and she screams in mingled pain and surprise. It's shocking,
25:17it's funny, it's unpredictable. It has all the markings of a great viral video. Almost as if it
25:23was manufactured that way. This video was filmed for Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the full clip shows Kimmel
25:29bursting in with a fire extinguisher, and giving a playful thumbs up to the camera. If anything,
25:35this video proves the deceptive magic of editing. Even if that edit is a simple cut right before an
25:41important reveal.
25:42To the conspiracy theorists on the internet who thought the video was fake, you were right,
25:46it was fake. We made it up. I'm also the guy who bit Charlie's finger, by the way.
25:50The driveway robot. Watching this video, we all thought the Terminator was just minutes away.
25:55It depicts a creepy, black, red, and white robot peacefully strolling up a driveway.
26:01The robot's unsettling appearance, combined with its realistic walking,
26:05had many convinced that the robot apocalypse was finally upon us.
26:15But no one questioned why robot technology had seemingly advanced decades overnight.
26:20You see, that's not a real robot. It's a CGI robot called Adam, and he actually starred in his
26:27own short film and web series. The fact that millions fell for this video really speaks volumes
26:32to how far CGI has come.
26:41Evan Longoria may be a three-time Gold Glove winner, but even he's not this good. This video has been
26:50seen
26:50millions of times, and it shows Longoria effortlessly saving a reporter's life. He's
26:56speaking to the reporter just off the first baseline, when a hit ball comes speeding directly
27:00for her head. His spidey senses tingling, Longoria quickly turns around and snatches the ball out of
27:06the air.
27:10You may ask yourself, why are they conducting an interview on the field in the middle of batting
27:15practice, and with their backs turned to the batter no less? They're doing that because the
27:19video was staged. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Evan Longoria does not have superhero reflexes.
27:29Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified
27:34about our latest videos. You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
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27:46This golden eagle is the golden standard of fake viral videos. It's what all fake videos aspire to
27:53be. Uploaded by MrNuclearCat, it shows the eagle floating through the air before dive-bombing a child
28:00and lifting him off the ground. The child is physically fine, but he was given the scare of his very
28:07short
28:08life. The video swept through the net and amassed millions of views, and it even made its way onto
28:13mainstream news outlets like Good Morning America. It was made by three college students who were
28:18studying digital design at Montreal's National Animation and Design Centre. Amazingly, both the
28:24eagle and the child are CGI. With stellar work like this, we don't think they need any more schooling.
28:30But one thing is for sure, this video will go down in viral video history.
28:35Which video were you most shocked to learn was fake? Be sure to let us know in the comments.
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