Hoaxology

In today’s media landscape, hoaxes spread faster than ever, often weaponized to distort truth and push false narratives. But this isn’t just an attack on Trump or his team—it’s an attack on you, the American people.

By understanding the tactics used to manipulate the public, you’ll be able to recognize when you’re being misled, see through the propaganda, and help others do the same.

Our mission is to debunk the hoaxes and expose the deceptive methods behind them, from selective editing to credibility laundering.

Below, you’ll find the most common hoax techniques and the examples that use them—so you can spot them in the wild.

Hoaxology

I. Selective Video Editing (Rupar Video)

Selective video editing manipulates the perception of an event by removing key context, distorting the original meaning. This technique involves trimming, reordering, or omitting portions of a video to remove context and create a false narrative that someone said or did something entirely different from what actually occurred. By isolating moments and stripping away essential context, the meaning of an event can be reversed or significantly altered, which misleads audiences. This removal of context also enables prominent figures and media to make more outrageous claims, as the absence of full information allows them to insert their own interpretations and narratives without contradiction. This hoax technique was used to create some of the most damaging hoaxes in American history.

II. Selective Photo Framing/Editing

This method involves cropping or editing photos to misrepresent an event or individual. A carefully chosen frame can exclude important context, altering the viewer’s perception of the situation and allowing the media to assign new meaning to the photo that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.

The J6 Insurrection Hoax | The Trump Overfed Koi Fish Hoax | The Trump Mocked A Disabled Person Hoax |The Border Patrol Agents Whipped Migrants Hoax

III. Strategic Ambiguity

This technique involves intentionally using vague or unclear language so that a statement, photo, or video can be interpreted in multiple ways. This encourages the subject to fill in the gaps with their own assumptions, often aligning with their pre-existing beliefs or biases. By leaving key details unsaid or open to interpretation, the speaker can avoid making definitive claims while still guiding the audience toward a particular conclusion. This allows the propagator to influence perceptions subtly, without taking responsibility for any specific interpretation that arises from the ambiguity.

IV. Selective Reporting

Where media outlets or individuals choose to report only certain facts or details of a story, often omitting important counterpoints or context that would challenge the narrative. By doing so, they create a skewed version of reality that serves their agenda.

V. Anonymous Sources

By relying on unnamed sources, stories can present allegations or claims without providing verifiable evidence. This shields the source from scrutiny and makes it harder to verify or challenge the authenticity of the claims. Additionally, it allows the media to amplify narratives with little accountability, as the lack of transparency makes it nearly impossible for the audience to assess the credibility or motives of the source.

The Russia Collusion Hoax | The Suckers and Losers Hoax | The October ’24 Atlantic Hoax | The Trump Grabbed the Steering Wheel of the Beast Hoax

VI. Story Relying on Inconsistent Witness Testimony

This method involves building a story based on witness accounts that are unreliable or contradict other reporting. Even when these accounts lack credibility, they are often framed as compelling or authoritative, allowing speculation to pose as fact. By cherry-picking or amplifying these testimonies, media outlets can craft a narrative that supports a predetermined angle, even if it doesn’t hold up under closer scrutiny. This method exploits the emotional weight of firsthand accounts while sidestepping the need for corroborating evidence.

The Suckers and Losers Hoax | The Trump Grabbed the Steering Wheel of the Beast Hoax

VII. Out-of-Context Quote

Taking a quote out of context can change its meaning entirely. By isolating certain words or phrases, the hoax creator can make it seem as though the speaker said something very different from their intended message.

VIII. Pretending Hyperbole is Real

This technique distorts a figure’s exaggerated, humorous, or hyperbolic statements by presenting them as genuine beliefs or intentions. By stripping away context, it misrepresents their viewpoint to create a misleading narrative. This tactic often fuels outrage or misunderstanding, exploiting the audience’s potential unfamiliarity with the original tone or intent.

The Trump Threatened Liz Cheney Hoax | The Trump Vowed To Be A Dictator Hoax

IX. Appeal to Fear

This technique involves presenting exaggerated threats or worst-case scenarios to incite fear, pushing the audience toward a specific viewpoint or action. By framing issues in a way that invokes fear of serious harm, manipulation of public opinion becomes easier, as people may be less likely to critically analyze claims when they’re anxious or fearful.

The Bloodbath Hoax | The Abortion Ban Hoax | The Presidential Immunity Hoax

X. Highlighting Emotional Reaction & Sensationalized Reporting

This technique emphasizes emotional responses—such as anger, frustration, or outrage—over facts or context to influence perception. By focusing on a subject’s reaction, the media or a propagator can shift attention away from substantive issues, making the reaction itself the story. This approach appeals to the audience’s own emotions, often encouraging judgment based on perceived temperament or character rather than actual events or policies.

The Bloodbath Hoax | The Muslim Ban Hoax | The Abortion Ban Hoax | The Presidential Immunity Hoax

XI. Branding

This technique involves repeatedly associating a person, idea, or group with a specific label or term that carries strong positive or negative connotations. Through consistent use, the label becomes a shorthand that influences public perception, often without need for detailed evidence. Branding creates a lasting impression that overshadows complex realities, making it easier to categorize someone or something as inherently “good” or “bad” in the public’s mind. Branding is designed to omit nuance.

The Muslim Ban Hoax | The Abortion Ban Hoax | The Tulsi Gabbard Is A Russian Agent Hoax

XII. Guilty By Association

In this technique, a target is linked to a controversial individual, group, or ideology in order to damage their reputation. This tactic exploits the audience’s biases and assumptions, suggesting shared motives or beliefs without providing evidence or using faulty logic. The goal is to create a perception of guilt or complicity through mere association, rather than through any factual wrongdoing. By associating someone with a controversial figure or ideology, the hoax attempts to undermine their credibility and appeal to the audience’s emotions and prejudices.

The Tulsi Gabbard Is A Russian Agent Hoax

XIII. Priming

Priming is a strategy used to influence how people interpret information by preconditioning their thoughts or emotions. In hoaxes, it involves repeatedly exposing audiences to specific cues or emotionally charged narratives, creating subconscious associations that align with the intended message. When new or ambiguous claims emerge, they seem more believable because they fit the preexisting narrative the audience has been primed to accept—effectively leveraging confirmation bias.

The Elon Nazi Salute Hoax

Hoax Amplification Methods

The following methods are similar to the previous category–you might not be able to tell the difference right away. How are these different? Instead of serving to originate hoaxes, these methods amplify hoaxes. When you see the media–or politicians–doing these, you know their intent is to add credibility or get more people to see their hoax.

XIV. Appeal to Authority

This involves citing an expert or influential figure to support a claim, regardless of whether that authority has relevant expertise on the topic. The goal is to leverage the figure’s reputation to lend credibility to an otherwise weak or false argument.

The J6 Insurrection Hoax | The Suckers and Losers Hoax | The January 6 Protesters Killed Police Hoax | The Hunter’s Laptop is Russian Misinformation Hoax | The Trump Grabbed The Steering Wheel of the Beast Hoax

XV. Credibility Laundering and Echo Chamber Effect

Also known as: Seeding the Story; Amplification by Mid-tier Outlets; Mainstream Pickup

Credibility Laundering- This refers to the practice of feeding false or misleading stories to less reputable outlets or blogs, which are then picked up and reported by larger, more credible sources. By the time the story reaches the mainstream, it appears legitimate, even though it originated from a weaker, less reputable, source.

Echo Chamber Effect- When different news sources report on each other–despite having only one or few weak original sources–creating an illusion where it feels like the majority of news outlets are independently reporting on the same thing, where the reality is that the evidence was not rigorously checked by a single source. There are many variations on this theme.

XVI. Circular Reporting

In circular reporting, a story with questionable or unverified information is initially published by one outlet (often relying on anonymous sources), and then other media outlets cite the original report as though it were a verified fact. Over time, the repeated citation of the same unverified claim gives the appearance of credibility, despite no independent confirmation of the story. This technique can amplify false information, making it seem legitimate when it’s merely being echoed across different platforms.

The Enemy Within Hoax | The Russia Collusion Hoax | The Suckers and Losers Hoax | The January 6 Protesters Killed Police Hoax | The Hunter’s Laptop is Russian Misinformation Hoax

Created by @americandebunk0 & @corleonetheone

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The American Debunk

Hoaxology

Hoaxology

Hoax Amplification Methods

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