35+ Images That Prove You Can’t Trust Everything You See on the Internet

35+ Images That Prove You Can’t Trust Everything You See on the Internet

Let’s be honest: the internet is a place where it pays to be very skeptical. Not that everything is a lie, but it’s far easier to lie on the internet than it is in real life, so lots of people lie there. Sometimes it’s touching up a picture to make yourself look more flattering. Other times, someone completely photoshops a picture to try and bamboozle other internet denizens and get some attention. One way or another, here are enough images to prove that everything you see on the internet is not as it seems.


Does He Remind You of Someone?


You’ve probably seen this cat around the internet at least once. After all, it’s remarkably cute, what with the mustache and eyebrows and all. Thing is, this cat doesn’t actually have those white eyebrows at all.


Does He Remind You of Someone?

What we find weird about this is the fact that the cat is already very interesting and cute with the mustache alone, which it actually does have in real life. The cat is already very noteworthy, so it hardly seems like anything needed to be added.



Ride the Wave


It would be very impressive if someone could actually create a wave of rice like this while cooking. For all we know, it is possible, but in the particular case of this image, it is indeed fake. That big rice wave is actually a sculpture.


Ride the Wave

Someone decided to shop it into the picture on the left. Why we have no idea. There are just some people on the internet who are creative and can see an interesting end result when they look at unrelated pictures. Well, partially unrelated in this case.



Not Allowed By NASA


This image of a famous astronaut in space circled around the internet for a while: what you see in that bag on top is exactly what you think it is. Needless to say, astronauts don’t get mind-altering substances while in space, at least as far as we know.


Not Allowed By NASA

What he really had is what appears to be Easter eggs. We assume that NASA wouldn’t be too fond of the hazards involved in someone not being in full control of their faculties on a space station. Those that would need it for medical reasons probably aren’t allowed to be astronauts to begin with.



A Tad Dissappointing


Not all photoshop is bad. Some of it is actually incredibly interesting. Unfortunately, the interesting things on the internet can often be fake, like this castle on top of a rock. It would be super cool if this was real, but it’s a combination of two different pictures.


A Tad Dissappointing

Of course, we hope that this picture wouldn’t confuse too many people if they thought about it for just a moment or two. Needless to say, while humans have always been great builders, it’s incredibly unlikely that they could have managed this back when castles were being built.



An Amusing Possibility


This image was very popular on the internet for a time, mostly because it was very ironic and quite funny. The building of architecture and planning suffering from very poor planning on its architecture? Amusing is putting it lightly.


An Amusing Possibility

The problem is that this doctored image actually looks quite believable because it seems mildly plausible. That said, it is still fake. It was a funny idea though, and probably still made a lot of people laugh.



Imagined Beauty


Some people on the internet edit images to make themselves look better, but others do it to make the world around them look different. This image of Venice with frozen waterways is beautiful, but it’s also fake, unfortunately. Even so, it’s very creative and inspiring.


Imagined Beauty

We’re not against shopping images to make them look cool or amazing, so long as the person doing the editing actually admits to everyone that it’s fake, instead of trying to pass it off as reality.



The Frog Stance


Occasionally, someone just gets an idea to do something really weird. This is one of those occasions. Admittedly, the idea of someone resting on this tiny shelf like some sort of frog is really funny, but someone just decided to mirror her legs.


The Frog Stance

All of that said, the way she is resting even one leg on that shelf is still kind of weird, but we suppose we can’t judge how people choose to wait around for things. Maybe she felt the need to stretch for some reason.



Political Agendas


Here’s an example of someone misusing the internet and the things it can do for dastardly ends. Well, not that we’re against protecting nature and fighting severe deforestation, but there’s a right way to go about it. Manipulating the truth to get your way, even if the end goal is noble, isn’t right.


Political Agendas

This edited image was clearly using manipulation to try and garner support for their cause, even if it meant vilifying their opposition for things they hadn’t really done. It’s just not the right way to go about it.



Chasing Down Tricks


Apparently, a picture of a sprinting bear just isn’t enough to be interesting. You have to add a cyclist in there to ensure that people are enthralled by what they see. As you may have guessed, there was no cyclist running from a bear here.


Chasing Down Tricks

For one, it would be awfully chilly riding a bike through that frigid weather, wouldn’t it? On the other hand though, we’re curious to know if a bear could catch a cyclist in that scenario. Bears are deceptively fast.



The First Dab, But Not Really


The dab has already fallen out of favor as a popular trend, so it’s obviously not timeless, but if it had really been around as early as World War II, we would honestly see it in an entirely new light. However, no one was dabbing at that point in history.


The First Dab, But Not Really

This image is actually from the set of the movie Dunkirk, which is only a few years old. Well, it was funny to think about, no doubt about that.



Difficult to Achieve


The thing about this faked internet photo is that there’s pretty much no way the photo on the left could have been taken. Assuming the rocket is in flight, not only would it be moving too fast for such a clean shot, but no aircraft would be allowed to fly around so close to it.


Difficult to Achieve

We’ll admit it’s a very majestic looking image, but its definitely of the doctored internet variety. Cool to look at, but a far cry from reality by any stretch of the imagination.



Animals You Never See


There are some interesting animals out there, especially in regards to genetic mutations. Such mutations can lead to animals that look much different from their brethren. However, this giraffe, which looks like a little dwarf version of the norm, is fake.


Animals You Never See

With Photoshop you can make many things look pretty believable, even if they seem inherently ridiculous on the surface. That’s why you need to be pretty skeptical on the internet.



In Their Natural Habitat


Speaking of bears being inserted into photos to make them a little more exciting, we have this shining example right here. Of course, we feel that this one is pretty obvious since the guys running away look like they’re having fun, more than scared.


In Their Natural Habitat

But then again, if they hadn’t edited that bear into the equation, this whole picture would just look kind of silly, wouldn’t it? They probably admitted outright that this wasn’t real, since it would be hard to believe to begin with.



Because Nature Isn’t Enough


Here’s another one of those internet pictures that seems needlessly edited. The crescent island depicted here is already quite majestic, and doesn’t really need any sort of editing to make it more beautiful. Does the addition of a star really make it any better?


Because Nature Isn’t Enough

We suppose some people would say yes, but this is still ultimately pointless, especially if you’re trying to actually convince someone that this is what the place looks like. That could be pretty misleading for vacation plans!



The Cows Come Home


Need a ‘check this out’ image to get attention on the internet? Can’t really go wrong with just throwing a cow on top of your car. Well, imposing a picture of a cow on top of a car at any rate. Not quite the same, but if people can’t tell the difference, it will still surprise them.


The Cows Come Home

We’re not saying that this kind of scenario is impossible, but it is pretty unlikely. Cows aren’t exactly the type to run off into the city by their lonesome to take a break on cars or anything.



Atom Einstein


The image of Einstein riding a bike is pretty famous, and a lot of people know about it. That said, it’s kind of weird that someone thought they could fool others by imposing that image over another on the internet. Needless to say, Einstein wasn’t riding his bike around when the atom bomb was being tested.


Atom Einstein

For one, he would probably be very interested in watching that, as opposed to whatever reason he would have to ride a bike while the rest of the audience was enthralled. Still, it’s kind of funny, at the least.



Turtle Island


This island, which loos remarkably like a turtle, is not real. Instead, it’s a doctored photo on the internet, being a somewhat edited version of the actual mountain on the bottom. We’ll admit, the turtle mountain thing is pretty cool, but it’s another example of why you can’t trust everything you see on the internet.


Turtle Island

These are actually the worst types of photos since they actually look like they could be real. That’s much worse than the kind of obvious photoshop that you can find elsewhere on the internet.



One With Nature


There’s a lot of photoshopped images on the internet, but there’s plenty of deceitful images that aren’t actually edited: they just aren’t what they seem. A lot of Instagram posts are like that. Case in point, right here. The shot looks pretty candid and beautiful.


One With Nature

But underneath the surface of such photos, you see just how ridiculous this kind of thing really is. Sure, you get a nice-looking photo out of the deal, but you look really stupid while doing it. There’s a lot more of those to come!



How to Get Taller


There’s a general societal notion that the boyfriend has to be taller than his girlfriend, for some reason. If you were to adhere to that notion, you may feel the need to make your boyfriend appear taller than he is in social media posts. Or maybe he’s the one that wants to appear taller. Either way.


How to Get Taller

Regardless, these are pretty great lengths to go to. You know, they do this in movies sometimes, if they feel that an actor or actress is too short compared to their co-stars. It’s just as ridiculous in that scenario.



No Better Option


The lengths that some people will go to on the internet for a perfect picture are pretty crazy. But what’s weird to us about this one is that someone is literally breathing smoke or vapor or whatever into the shot. Like, was there no better way to achieve this effect?


No Better Option

Just seems a little gross to us. But some people will do whatever they have to do in order to get the shot they are looking for. We suppose there’s a certain amount of dedication in that to be respected.



Opportunity Knocking


A lot of people, when seeking to post an image of some sort on Instagram or a similar social media site, will look around for settings or environments that will make for a good picture. When they find it, they don’t really care what they look like to the public eye.


Opportunity Knocking

Well, we suppose they don’t care since most of those people would be strangers. But then again, most people on the internet are strangers too, so…



That’s a Nice Bush


We have to wonder if people trying to make a name for themselves on social media just run around looking for nice foliage to take pictures in. There are actually a lot of pictures like this one, of people sitting around in plants looking for pretty pictures.


That’s a Nice Bush

Thing is, those pictures are pretty attractive, but the method of acquiring them is a little silly if you think about it for a little bit. Or at all, really.



Using the Environment


Speaking of social media pictures and people using foliage to make them look as good as possible, here’s another one. This time, it looks like they just went out into their yard or something. Well, there’s nothing wrong with using what is available to you.


Using the Environment

Still, for someone driving by on that road, it would probably look pretty strange to see the girl sitting around in those weeds, or whatever they are. But hey, just mind your own business, right?



The Third Wheel


You ever see one of those pictures on the internet where everyone’s hands appear to be occupied, so you have no idea how the picture was actually taken? A quick peek behind the scenes will shed some light on the situation. Sometimes, it looks a lot like this.


The Third Wheel

Well, we don’t actually know how many people are giving piggyback rides for a mere picture, but it would explain why the girl in this photo looks so happy. She was probably struggling to hold back laughter in this situation.



All About Perspective


Perspective is a funny thing. With perspective, you can make very large things look small, or very small things look massive. A true expert can really do some crazy things with miniatures, a camera, and a good angle. Case in point, this image right here.


All About Perspective

With just a bit of perspective magic, even toys can look shockingly lifelike. However, this is more evidence that you can’t trust everything you see on the internet. You never know what kind of deception is around!



Two in One


This social media post has two of the things we were making fun of in one. Not only are they using some foliage for a shot again, they even have a random third member to give them the boost they need to be in the spot they desire. The combination is certainly amusing.


Two in One

From now on, you should really ask yourself what kind of effort went into a post on social media, especially if it looks really good. The better it looks, the more crazy shenanigans probably went on to make it happen.



No Health Concerns


Do you need that little extra magic for your wedding photo? Why not get someone to spit water into it? Oh, that’s weird, you say? Well, you’re right about that. We can think of some better ways to get this kind of thing done. Ways that don’t involve spit, preferably.


No Health Concerns

Maybe they didn’t have any alternative, or maybe they just didn’t want to think about it that hard. Or maybe their friend is just extremely good at doing this kind of thing. Either way, we doubt anyone was expecting this in being the reality of the situation.



The Chains That Bind


For some people, having a quality chain is a status sign of sorts, even if the only people you are trying to impress are on the internet. That said, if you can’t afford a real one, you may feel inclined to turn towards some other measures.


The Chains That Bind

If it were us, we would simply rely on trying to make a cheap chain look good, but this guy had some other plans. Whether or not it’s a good plan, well… you never know what’s behind someone in a photo, now do you?



Elegant on the Surface, Odd Behind


This is probably one of the best examples of how something can look very beautiful on the internet, but be pretty ridiculous in reality. We’ll admit that the picture looks great, but the way they have achieved it is a little silly.


Elegant on the Surface, Odd Behind

That said, there’s nothing wrong with doing silly things to get a really good picture. After all, why not use the cheapest, most efficient option you have? No need to do more complicated things if you really don’t need to.



An Ant’s View


Have you ever wondered what things look like to an ant? Well, with some perspective pictures, you can experience that for yourself! Without the knowledge that what you are looking at here is fake, you would probably never know. You’d probably never guess that it was some small model either!


An Ant’s View

You’ve got to wonder now: how many things that you’ve seen on the internet are actually small-scale models, and the angle just makes it impossible to tell? That’s why you can’t take the things you see on the internet at face value.



The Cheapest Vacation


Going on a vacation is expensive if you are trying to go anywhere that requires a plane or a boat. Overseas trips can put a huge dent in your finances. But if all you care is pretending you went on vacation to impress your friends, you don’t actually have to go.


The Cheapest Vacation

As long as you know how to make it work, a background like this is enough to fool some people that you actually went to a foreign country. That said, we would highly recommend visiting these places for real instead.



Clever Positioning


Honestly, this image may be a bit of a misnomer. Technically, it’s not trying to deceive you or anything. However, it is a funny example of how things really look behind the scenes. It all looks very candid and beautiful, but in reality, it’s probably a little weird.


Clever Positioning

After all, you’re sitting on the beach with your beloved, awkwardly waiting for the photographer to get the angle just right. Probably glancing over your shoulder every few seconds to ask him if he got it or not, while you’re at it.



From the Deep


Here’s another perspective picture, though it’s a little different from the others because it’s not like you’d actually believe a giant woman was coming out of the water. Still, if you were looking at this picture, you’d probably wonder how the effect was achieved.


From the Deep

Like many of these pictures, while the end result looks great, the method of getting that result looks kind of ridiculous. Guess you have to be willing to look silly to be a good photographer or model!



All By Yourself


We had a picture earlier that showed one way you could hold hands with someone and still get the shot, which included having a third partner. However, you could also resort to this, dare we say, more pathetic option. We’re not trying to be mean, it’s just… well, y’know.


All By Yourself

Besides, is a picture like this going to fool anyone other than strangers on the internet? Anyone who actually knows you will also know that you don’t have a significant other, so this definitely wouldn’t fool them.



Even Worse Than Coach


Flying in coach is hard. It’s not very comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, and you have to deal with the company of a bunch of people you probably don’t like. But you know, if you can’t get into first class, you can at least fool strangers on the internet.


Even Worse Than Coach

All you need is what appears to be a kennel or crate of some sort and a very particular angle. This is why you should always ask for multiple pieces of evidence when people tell you an unbelievable story.



Nature’s Doorstep


Want to make people think you love nature, but don’t want to actually get nature on your clothes? Well, that’s not as hard as you think it is! With a bit of proper positioning and a good camera angle, you can convince internet strangers and even friends that you are a true adventurer.


Nature’s Doorstep

Of course, this might look a little weird when everyone else on the road is stopping to look at you, but we’ve already determined that the price of a good picture is often looking ridiculous to the public eye.



Sprucing Up Nature


Believe it or not, a lot of pictures of nature on the internet are fake, or at least edited to make it look more spectacular than it really is. We understand that reality doesn’t always live up to expectations, so we don’t particularly mind that some people do this.


Sprucing Up Nature

After all, we can’t deny that the picture on the left is gorgeous. However, it’s probably not a good thing to convince other people that certain places are better than they truly are.



Take Me Out to the Ballgame


You can’t always make it to every game that you want to see. But if you want to keep up appearances, that’s not all that hard to do, assuming your TV has a decent enough quality in its visuals. The real thing here is having friends that are actually willing to do stuff like this for you.


Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Find friends who are willing to help you fake stupid things on the internet. Any friend willing to do that is one who at least truly likes you a little bit.



But Can You Tell the Difference?


We’ve tried to shy away from images of people faking aesthetics because there’s a lot of that on the internet. However, this one is actually pretty funny. Thing is, you can’t actually tell the difference here without the second picture.


But Can You Tell the Difference?

Well, maybe some people could, but we imagine that many individuals would still be fooled. It’s a pretty convincing way to make yourself appear a little more… endowed, if you will.



Looks Good on Paper


Pictures of food often look better than the actual food, don’t they? In fact, there are some cases where the food looks so good, you could even be convinced that it’s real. Case in point, this image of a meal from a restaurant menu.


Looks Good on Paper

If you were one of those people that like to show off their fancy food to anyone that will look at it on the internet, this would be a pretty good way to do it without spending actual money.



Help Me Out With This One


If there’s one simple truth to this world, it’s this: being cool is hard, but looking cool is easy. After all, looking cool often just means lying, generally with a little help from a friend or two. Sometimes, that’s all it takes to fool everyone, at least on the internet.


Help Me Out With This One

Well, you usually have to make sure to crop out that friend who is backing you up, but fortunately, that too is pretty easy with the help of technology. Doesn’t take much to look much cooler than you are!



Only the Good Stuff


Posting things on the internet is often a matter of cutting out all the bad stuff and leaving only that silver lining, generally with the intent of making that silver lining appear much bigger and better than it is in reality. It goes a lot like this image, in fact.


Only the Good Stuff

The city may not be very picturesque, but you can fix that if you just make sure to not get most of it in the picture. Oh, and touch up some of the colors, too.



How It’s Done


Well, there’s no deception in this picture, but it is neat to see how something so unique and beautiful is managed from behind the scenes. It’s another case of things not being nearly as glamorous in reality as it appears on the surface.


How It’s Done

It’s actually pretty amazing how simple techniques can create incredibly amazing things if you just know how to use them properly. If anything, this should inspire more people to just try things that don’t seem that advanced.



High Quality Television


Here’s another example of how you can use a TV to convince people on the internet that you lead a much more interesting life than you really do. It’s a wonder how believable some TV displays look nowadays, isn’t it?


High Quality Television

In fact, if you had a high quality television, you could probably just use that to consistently fool people on the internet that you do cool stuff all the time. Maybe that would be a valid reason to buy one, if nothing else.