Anything for Clout: 15 Viral Moments that Were Totally FAKE [VIDEO]

Source: Radio ONE Houston / General

Each day, around 1.5 million hours of video are uploaded to the internet daily across the most popular platforms online. This massive flood of content speaks to the increasing importance of video in our modern era. It also means that, with so much content vying for your attention, people look for “creative” ways to break through the noise.

Earlier this month, Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave and his friend, celebrity chef Geoff Cole, were accused of staging a shootout and robbery incident that Cole initially posted on Instagram. The video, shared by Cole, showed a masked individual attempting to rob him outside his San Diego home, with Troy Ave intervening and firing shots to ward off the attacker.

Check out the video below and judge for yourself.

However, sources close to the situation later informed TMZ that the entire event was fabricated for social media attention, and no live rounds were fired. Local officers confirmed they had no reports of such an incident occurring at the time of the alleged event. As of Friday (July 18), San Diego police were investigating the matter to determine what really went down.

To be fair, neither Troy Ave nor Cole had publicly addressed the accusations of staging the incident, but some speculated the stunt was an attempt to promote a song – which just happen to be playing in Cole’s car – at the time of the alleged crime.

There are several reasons why individuals might create or share fake social media content, spanning from seeking validation and popularity to deliberately misleading others. Whatever the end game, some folks have found success (time and time again) with staged scenarios.

Scroll below for more outrageously fake moments in social media history.