On the other hand, there are scams that look like totally legit things, while others are obvious hoaxes that are designed to make you laugh.

Those totally obvious hoaxes are often used as satire to ridicule some idea, concept or realia.

Otherwise, those sites are just entertaining designed to trigger emotions.

The Onion: Your Weekly Source of Fake News

The Onion is a satirical weekly publication published 52 times a year on Thursdays… The Onion is not intended for readers under 18 years of age. The Onion uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases where public figures are being satirized. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.

Be sure to check their Video section out: their fake-news CNN-style videos will make your day!

Landover Baptist Church

Landover Baptist Church “Guarantees salvation since 1620″. In reality it is all about fictional church based in a fictional town and is intended to be a parody of independent Baptist churches.

The site provides for plenty of fun like forums, quizzes, and even kids’ corner. (notice that under the terms of service, “The Landover Baptist Church website is not intended to be viewed by minors or anyone under the age of 18“)

Male Pregnancy

MalePregnancy.com is a site dedicated to the world’s first medical experiment: male pregnancy.

The site features easy-to-believe documentary describing how the world is going to change when men start getting pregnant as well as message boards listing fake messages by fake members.

Hetracil: Anti-Homosexuality Medicine

Hetracil is reported to be “the world’s most widely prescribed anti-effeminate” prescribed by doctors to prevent homosexuality.

The site looks as a classic medical website with “About the disease” and “Ask the doctor” sections:

More than 80 million Americans suffer from some type of Homosexuality, and one in eight persons need treatment for Homosexuality during his or her lifetime. Homosexuality is not a character flaw; it is neither a “mood” nor a personal weakness that you can change at will or by “pulling yourself together.”

DreamTech International [CLONES-R-US]

CLONES-R-US is claimed to be the “largest reproductive cloning provider“.

The site offers a list of satisfied customers, price list and cloning FAQ:

Why should I obtain a clone child?

That depends. You may wish to more or less know what you’ll be getting, or to eliminate the risk of congenital disabilities. You might wish to propagate the genes of someone who has had no children in the conventional manner. You may want a specific type of offspring. Or you may not be able to reproduce sexually.

First Genetics

First Genetics is all about “Marty the Mandrill,” the monkey, “the first genetically engineered organism to show signs of intelligence manipulation through selective chromosome laser enhancement”.

Marty is the only primate able to communicate with Homo Sapiens in their own language via typing in fluent English.

The site offers a number of “research papers” and even the way to speak to the monkey using the webcam (but you should “refrain from using profound language. Marty is very sensitive and is looking forward to making new friends.”).

Pets or Food

Petsorfood.com advertises a unique service “provide freshly clubbed and frozen baby seal meat [as long as other cute and exotic animals] to American dinner tables.”

The site home page features a photo of a cute baby seal that breaks my heart:

Christopher Walken 2008

Christopher Walken’s 2008 Presidential Campaign site that was mentioned by Washington Post as well as other reputable web resources.

Fake sites that I didn’t mention above because:

• It looks ugly (though I loved the idea of saving the Guinea Worm facing extinction): Save the Guinea Worm Foundation;
• I can’t stand those photos of cute kittens stuck in a bottle (yes, I am aware of the fact that’s a hoax): Bonsai Kitten;
• One mention is more than enough for RYT hospital: GenoChoice.com (provided by creators of Male Pregnancy mentioned above).

Any more?

Are you aware of more spoof website that are obvious scams? Share the on the comments and I will add them to the post!

Those imaginary people get second life on Twitter – they become real: they talk and think, answer their fans’ questions, discuss the story line and comment on their daily routine.

Most awesome examples of how Twitter ‘enliven’ popular TV and movie characters are listed below:

Darth Vader is a highly popular Twitter profile for Star Wars evil genius. Other Twitterers from the Star Wars galaxy include his son Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, beautiful Princess Leia, wise Jedi master Yoda, Han Solo, beeping bot R2-D2 and his friend C3PO. Evil side is supported by Darth Sidious and The Emperor.

Buffy Summers is “SO over the vampire thing.” She also keeps in touch with her demon ex-boyfriend Angel and her high school friend.

Here’s another Twitter profile for Buffy by the way.

Batman calls himself “Dark Knight. Superhero”. The man reports on his daily patrols and accidents:

Super Man is one the few Batman’s friends. He has too little time to Twitter reporting only on important event:

Family Guy’s baby troublemaker Stewie Griffin has made only a few updates but already has a huge followship. The only person he talks to is @briangriffin.

“Archaeologist, Professor of Archaeology at Marshal College, and Obtainer of Rare Antiquities” Indiana Jones posts updates on his never-ending adventures and related resources:

The doltish head of the Simpsons’ household Homer Simpson “Twitters his love for donuts, his hatred of Bible-thumping neighbor Ned Flanders as well as random political and sports events:

His smart daughter Lisa Simpson is also on Twitter.

Hobbit Frodo Baggins Tweets about his adventures. His fellow The Lord of the Rings characters include: Freaky Hobbit Gollum and “Still not King” Aragorn:

Dr. Tobias Funke repressed homosexual and psychiatrist in Fox’s “Arrested Development” Tweets his daily experience:

Peggy Olson, copywriter on AMC’s Mad Men, reveals the “outside-the-office” edgier side of hers:

Fox’s 24 government agent Jack Bauer follows the show plot closely and posts random Tweets sometimes:

Sources: wired.com, pcworld.com, twitter.com, image by Aaron Escobarâ„¢

This post is meant to look into those hoaxes that are no harm to anyone. Well, some people might be still ripped off but that was not intended. Here are most creative and sensational Internet but harmless hoaxes of all times:

Fake Photos:

Fake photos are spread around the Internet faster than anything. Some of them are remembered for years and never stop provoking rumors and discussions. Two most long-lasting photos which are still traveling from blog to blog are pictures of a giant cat, a shark attacking the helicopter and the accidental tourist photographed on top of the World Trade Center right before the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.

Snowball, the Giant Mutant Cat of Ontario:

Shark Attacks Helicopter (larger photo):

The 9/11 Tourist Guy:

Fake Videos: Google TV

2007 was the year when the Internet users were fooled into believing that Google was going to launch “Google TV” – the service in beta that allowed to watch all your favorite TV shows online for free. The video posted on Youtube provided the instruction on how to sign up for the private beta – the idea was eagerly supported by bloggers who start spreading the word.

Google TV was rumored to be supported by major TV channels. Additionally, the video featured the tutorial on how to use the service and what it looks like inside. The video was surprisingly convincing and easy-to-believe:

Fake Characters: Lonelygirl15

A fictional teenage girl named Bree, whose YouTube username is the eponymous “lonelygirl15″, achieved massive popularity posing as a real 16-year-old video blogger. To further the initial illusion that Bree was a real girl, a MySpace page was set up for her and she was corresponding with many of her fans.

In reality, the whole team of professional filmmakers was behind the online character:

Fake Twitter Accounts

Since Twitter became popular, many celebrities and famous people joined it to communicate with fans and followers. Many of those accounts are fake – funniest hoaxes among them are:

• @cnnbreaking is the fake CNN account responsible for numerous fake news. Too bad they do not update their stream frequently enough. My favorite Tweets from them are:

“Apple unveils ultra-fragile, overpriced new laptop.”

“No joke: Obama wins!”

• Dalai Lama was found to have joined the micro-blogging service under the name @OHHDL, The Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. A few days later the hoax was discovered and the account was suspended as

“Using Twitter to impersonate others in a manner that does or is intended to mislead, confuse, or deceive others is also cited in the Twitter Rules.”

• The self-proclaimed ‘official’ Twitter account of the Austin, Texas, police department @AustinPD was suspended on March, 25, CNet.com reports:

“Updates from the fake Twitter account included “warming up my radar gun for SXSWi” and “we’re looking to make more stops at SXSW this year than last,” as well as references to police jargon codes that seemed to be stemming from a knowledge of gangsta rap lyrics rather than actual law enforcement.”

Fake Websites:

Create a false website on some fake event or announcement and spread it around – you are most likely to get some attention. Why? Because people love sensations and hoaxes no matter how lame and unbelievable they are. Just one of the numerous examples: Christopher Walken’s 2008 Presidential Campaign site that was mentioned by Washington Post as well as other reputable web resources.

The site is an obvious hoax but people were talking about it no matter what:

Funny Email Spam

I hate spam (as well as anyone having an email address does, I guess). However this type of spam makes you smile – so it’s a good one, I suppose. These messages are often sent out as a reaction to some notable event – they never steal your personal details or mean anything bad at all.

Here is one of the best examples: a humorous warning based on the story of the Trojan Horse (via bored.com):