viral hoax
Contagious online lie
A viral hoax is false information that spreads rapidly through social media, email, or word of mouth.
Unlike simple misinformation, a viral hoax typically has features designed to encourage sharing—urgency, emotional appeal, or the appearance of credibility: That story about the missing child was a viral hoax.
Common examples include fake health warnings, fabricated news stories, and hoax charity appeals.
- misinformationFalse data spread unintentionally
- fake newsIntentionally deceptive media content
- fakeNot the real thing
- debunkedExposed as fraudulent
- spreadTo distribute widely
share · forward · chain letter · chain · copy and paste · rumor · fact-check · fact checkers · prank · scam · conspiracy · too good to be true · clickbait · sensational · outbreak · panic · mass hysteria · warning
- misinformationmisinformation, disinformation, fake news, falsehoods, lies
- Online Scandalscancel culture, doxxing, cyberbullying, online harassment, trolling
- cyber conflictstrolling, cyberbullying, flame war, online harassment, doxing
viral hoaxtrue story
Narrative of actual events
primary source · eyewitness testimony · official record · empirical evidence · eyewitness account
viral, hoax, virus, viruses, virally, virulence, virulent, virulently, hoaxes