Awkward Encounters: Times Where People Were Busted Being Slightly Sneaky Online

By Aileen D

This article was originally published on travelerdoor

The feeling is all too familiar. It starts off with a head-grabbing statement or picture. You read further. It’s just the right amount of sentence length. You find yourself guessing if the post was real or if it was an elaborate lie. After all, it looks almost too good to be true. They can’t get away with it. Well, at least some of them got celebrities like Harry Style reply to their tweet. The rest of them weren’t so lucky. When complaining to a major food and beverage establishment, it’s always important to make sure you’ve got the facts straight. Some of these people thought they had the upper hand, but they, unfortunately, didn’t. These cringe moments made waves on the internet and we’re living for them.

Sorry Starbucks

The world’s most loved coffee chain is in for a treat. And we don’t mean the sweet and nice kind. They received a comment from a Twitter user who claims they don’t hire veterans. And boy, their answer was a smart one.

Image credit: Starbucks/Twitter

They retorted by saying that they already do hire veterans and he was gravely mistaken. That kind of calm and classic reply really changes the atmosphere. Way to go Starbucks for handling this minor issue very well. This guy should have done his research before calling out on one of the biggest coffee chains in the world. Yikes!

Sore Loser

This person was in for a beating when the person she was talking about caught sight of her lie. This person mentioned how she was first in the race but she fell short of the truth.

Image credit: diply.com

The real truth was revealed when the user mentioned that she was the winner. This is a fail of epic proportions because she claimed someone else’s glory. Not a very commendable thing to do. Perhaps sports isn’t her forte? When you’re an athlete, it’s really important to maintain humility and not be a sore loser.

Those Youngsters

Millennials, Gen Z you can see these types of people everywhere. They’re in your malls. They’re in your neighbor’s houses and they’re in your subways. These inconsiderate youngins weren’t prioritizing the elderly. But wait, what’s that we see? An empty seat? Looks like your picture is void.

Image credit: silent_kni8/Reddit

Next time instead of dissing others then make sure to make sure all the seats are occupied before pointing fingers. There was clearly a seat behind her. Or maybe a small dog was sitting there? Either way, she should have shown the entire picture instead of pointing fingers.

I Don’t Have Cancer

This girl was in for the ride of her life when someone mistakingly posted her picture saying that she has cancer. Imagine that! We wouldn’t know how to respond that’s for sure.

Image credit: Musicmantobes/Reddit

It looks like she took matters into her own hands when she decided to report the page for negligence and false news. Good on you, girl! Redeem your power. Also, she’s totally rocking the bald look. This was pretty cruel after all cancer is no laughing matter. Good thing Stefania stepped up!

Victim- Blaming

He’s just as much a victim as we are. Look at those eyes. And when your friends come over, you take turns reprimanding him. Look at those piercing eyes. How could we be upset?

Image credit: killersayshi/Reddit

How dare you, Karen? Call PAWS! If that were us, we would actually ruin the entire set next time. We can’t be tried again when we’ve been previously convicted of wrongdoing we didn’t commit. After all, at least he didn’t destroy the pillowcase, only the stuffing! He’s innocent! Until proven wrong..

Piecing a Story

We
encounter so many misleading articles such as this. And having to be caught redheaded
affects your credibility, whether or not you’re The New York Times or a Humor-
Gag website. Reddit threads might even have more credibility than a comedic
website.

Image credit: Laughtrac_/Reddit

To be fair, we find the story more interesting than having to be told that it was an art piece. How are we supposed to interpret this? Did the artist intend for us to observe nature while keeping those seats fixed? The story is an interesting one, but doing research is vital. An art piece was actually turned into a grim story.

The Mountain

Dressed up in metal and ravaging that shameful nun, he was a brute. The backstory is that he thrust his brother’s face in red-hot embers. While watching Game of Thrones we thought he was massive. Turns out he wasn’t. He’s dwarfed in comparison to the others.

Image credit: Jdevloper/Reddit

But that is because they’re basketball players. They are still really tall- they’re over 7 feet. Just when you think you’re the tallest person in the group, these two guys come in to totally prove you wrong. There will always be a taller person than you even if you think you are.

Shadow Play

You’ll see a puppet hoisted by a stick. It’s the first day of classes and a friend of his decided to take his picture. He’s shy and we reckon he doesn’t have much friends.

Image credit: DudeGuy04/Reddit

Well at least, now he wouldn’t with that misleading caption. It’s good that he doesn’t have his face displayed in this picture. It would be pretty embarrassing to be branded as a fake on the interweb. Come on, we all know where the sun is facing… he could have turned a few degrees to the side to prove his point.

Filming a Call

One of
the biggest shams in Pretty Little Liars is a popular kid’s cellphone usage.
No, it has nothing to do with data subscription but how she takes calls.

Image credit: Skeptik01/Reddit

It’s not like she was in a public place, and that she was trying to surreptitiously take pictures of someone. She was at home when the phone rang. And she answered it by cupping the mouthpiece with flesh and hair. Attagirl. That’s how you mute the call. 

Beware Resellers

We love online shopping because there are no queues. But we have to be discerning about the products we buy. Take for instance, this scenario. It’s brand new but what’s the issue? The fact that it might not be brand new at all…

Image credit: Axwe8/Reddit

That backdrop made us think it’s filthy. We wouldn’t want to wear eyeglasses where they’ve been put on the car floor. Second, they’re anyone’s shape. In fact, you’re wearing them. We’d expect scratches on these glasses. We’re haggling down. Our minimum offer is 50% off, including shipping fees.

Out for a Run

Dad is an all-timer. He preps up, brews coffee, does high knees in place then puts those bands around his wrist. He worked 13 hours a day, takes out the trash, and then tends to the baby. Good job, dad.

Image credit: brentf2000/Reddit

He says he’s going out for a run. The house goes silent for a few minutes. You exit your room and head to the fridge to get a snack, and then you’re confronted with the usual lie. Dad has run into the fields of REM. He must have been exerted from that mental exercise.

Lying in 1979

We don’t understand the fascination with antiquity. It is probably because it is factual. The past cannot be undone or changed. But captions can. When was this posted? You be the judge.

Image credit: iBleeedorange/Reddit

So when retro pop cult decided to mislead the public, he was called out on it by the telling display of electrolyte drinks. This picture could have been taken any time from the 90s until the early 2000s. That is as old as it can get. We like the filter this person used maybe they can let us know the name?

Still Alive

This is why we fact-check. The caption praises an icon, but it seems like it’s marked for an epitaph. No one wants to be dismissed as dead despite being elderly. 

Image credit: thehorrormaster/Twitter and CBS Sunday Morning/YouTube

Straight from the grave, John Carpenters extends a fist, and opens it wide. This leaves us stunned. He plows through the dirt. Soil crumbles away by the sides of his ears. We know how ruthless comments on Rotten Tomatoes are, but we could never imagine them burying him alive. Evil hiding among us is an ancient theme.

Breaking the Record

Even we were blindsided by this. From the looks of Rob’s thumbnail, he’s built. He seems athletic enough with those bulging triceps and the tapering torso. So we weren’t surprised when he had posted his workout routine.

Image credit: ian_2101/Reddit

A nerd to the rescue! We’re getting fonder of them. There’s a depth to their savage nature, which uncovers the truth. Better luck next time Rob. Or better yet, try reproducing that sprint so you can gain notoriety on the books. Don’t claim someone else’s fame, some people have trained for many years…

Failed Artist

This failed artist forgot to use originality in his work. After all, originality is key. People can get massive fines for stealing other people’s works and this is an act of plagiarism and theft.

Image credit: [deleted user]/Reddit

This person thought that he could get away with things. But lo and behold someone caught onto his lies. Next time make sure to give credit where credit is due. Nobody would like their work to be stolen. People can always run reverse image searches too and this person clearly forgot that they could do that…

Smoothing out the Lines

Let us remind Kris that she’s in her 50s. It’s normal to have frown lines and sagging skin. But she patently disowns it, and that’s what makes her unattractive.

Image credit: celebrity.nine.com.au

Kris not only smoothed out her face, but that of Gordon Ramsay-a chef we bloody know to have a ruled forehead. In this picture, he looks devilishly handsome, as if he were a platter to be served. He looks nowhere like a foul-mouthed chef. They look flawless, we would love to know their skincare routine!

Out with Hubby

Oh no this one was too important to not include. This girl messed up big time. That’s why sometimes it’s better to keep things for yourself because people always have something to say. She thought that she could fool the internet that she’s going out with her husband for a fun night. The night was ruined when the boss responded.

Image credit: Endmostchimera/imgur

Come on, jokes about death or any of that sort are terrible. We don’t encourage replicating this at all. This was foul play. Also, why would you share this status on Facebook when you told other people something else. Not cool, dude. Better be careful next time.

Natural Look

This is a bit far-fetched. There are model-esque women like Anne Hathaway but no one can look this attractive straight out of an 8-hour sleep. Unless they didn’t wash their make-up before going to bed or slathered on a few layers right after waking up.

Image credit: elfruky/Reddit

The telltale sign is those earrings. Had it been us, its lock would have detached while tussling midnight. And we’d scramble to find the pearl upon waking up. That costs more than our whole wardrobe combined. The very idea that it might have fallen out of bed is enough of a reason to stand up and do a pat-down.

 Chilling by the Bar

Never
lie to a woman. She has got a built-in polygraph. The rods twitch and record
erratic breathing and typographical errors, without wires braced to your chest.
And when going to the club, always seek permission!

Image credit: Deadlyspinner/imgur

We’re
confused though. What was she doing there? Was she there to party too? Does
this make two of them in the relationship? Or had she gone there while
sleuthing around. He should down those drinks as a form of damage control.
She’ll have the truth out of him within seconds.

 Staying Solo

The
first few seconds made us think “aww”. He seems like a nice guy. But the next
few made us cringe. This is sad. No one would should have to resort to this.

Image credit: 20sJeeves/Reddit

To be fair, we remember our high school selves wanting to have a lover. They were right when they told us it wasn’t really that big of a deal. It takes too much effort. We hope he knows that truth now. It’s better to exert that effort on himself. Why’d he have to take a selfie in front of a mirror though, epic fail dude?

Vegan Beef

We
understand how people would consider going vegan or vegetarian. Mad Cow
Disease, Bird Flu, and this COVID-19. They’re all cross-overs from animals.
Another argument? Animal cruelty. Why raise animals to be slaughtered and
served on your plate?

Image credit: diply.com

Because there’s a market for them. No matter what you say, we thrive in an ecological food chain. You need some predators like this Facebook user to keep animal populations at bay. They’re served grilled to perfection, with juices searing through and a whiff of jalapeno chilli pepper.  

Trick or Treatin’

Trick! Pronounce “nut”. We’ll make it harder this time. Pronounce “Nutella”. That, folks, is what you get when you blindly assume that every product is American-based.

Image credit: SeriesOfAdjectives/Reddit

Nutella was founded by Italian Michele Ferrero. Now that’s a fun fact you can tell your friends. The product hails from a baker shop owned by Pietro Ferrero. Hence the variant pronunciation of the first syllable. The “newt” is pronounced with a hard “oo”.

Slipknot

This famous rock band got called for one of their members having a panic attack or going into crazy mode after finding himself. It’s one thing to lie about someone’s death but it also isn’t pleasant to lie about someone’s mental health.

Image credit: lonczoner/Reddit

The truth was that he was happy with finding out who he was. I mean who wouldn’t? It seems like the veil has been lifted and he can live his life again. That’s a mighty claim right there and good thing the V-Man was able to call out on the lies that were mentioned about him! Good on him.

Debunking the Dictionary

Confused? Yeah, we were too. We can’t imagine how anyone would think the word is made up.Even people who dispute flat-earthers explain that it was initially conceived by civilizations, but was later disproved upon scientific conquests and worldly voyages.

Image credit: Bq22_/Reddit

But to say that “am” does not exist is disconcerting. How did this person survive middle school? How was she able to form active-voice sentences in the first person? It looks like they should install Grammarly or a grammar-checking app before sending any important emails.

Family Pictures

It’s
heart-warming to find your beau having taken pics of you while you were asleep.
You’re passed out cold from work or studying. And he finds you beautiful at a
vulnerable moment. This woman tried to pass that off to the public.

Image credit: thechive.com

She had almost gotten away with it. We were too focused on them looking like the perfect couple with nearly the same features. Good thing he called our attention to it. After all, they’re posed so perfectly it looks like it was staged 100%. Yikes. No more sleeping pictures…

Watchmen Fail

This publishing agency thought they could fool the internet realm. But little did they know that the person they were targeting would respond. Good on you Mark, for calling them out!

Image credit: Funny Movies meme/Pinterest and DFree/Shutterstock

After all, we wouldn’t want people to replace the words coming out of our mouths. Fact-checking is a must and a vital took that some companies can overlook. Hopefully, a crash course in fact-checking will prevent these mistakes. A lot of these online newspapers or online publishing platforms need to fact-check to avoid getting called out by celebrities.

Food on the Table

You’d
want to be careful with your posts, especially if they’re about the person who
has clothed and fed you for 18 years. Besides, aren’t you a bit too old to
blame your parents for putting food on the table?

Image credit: youandmeandrainbows/imgur

You could use it as a form of motivation. Work your way up the corporate ladder and buy your own crib. Or we could just report you for abuse of speech. This person was lucky Facebook didn’t fully ban his account. This was offensive and we feel bad for his family for having to read what they wrote.

Age is But a Number

This guy thought he could feel people with his age but little did he know that the internet would not be deceived. When posting online it’s important to realize that everyone can always read what you write.

Image credit: Darius_Skucas/Reddit

Keeping tracks of facts is vital in building your story. Many people tend to fall through the cracks and this person should have been warier. Better luck next time!

Make-Believe

We
thought only kids would make up stories- princesses, dragons, boogeymen, masked
thieves and bank robberies. But some adults never grow past toddlerhood. Take
for instance,

Image credit: grandmaster_oatcake/Reddit

Facepalm. Any other kid would have wet their pants. And we would have comforted them by play-pretend. We’re gonna wait for the newspaper to publish this, or we can just head by the local bank. How true is this story? We’ll leave it up to your judgment.

What’s the Emergency

In
first-world countries, the immediate thing to do when encountering a break-in
is to seek safety. Then call the police! That’s what this girl did…kind of

Image credit: Deadlyspinner/imgur

Well
she had to update the public. The story wouldn’t be complete without a rising
action. The only problem was that she was entitled to cellphone privileges at
all. We would probably break and enter into the house just to teach her a
lesson. When crying wolf, best expect there’d be a rug of sheepskin.

Swipe Left

There’s a lot of bull on Tinder. People are inflating themselves and putting on their best edits to land dates. Sometimes, they even recycle bios to sound more appealing and attractive. Yikes.

Image credit: Tinder

Eye
color is eye color. The rarity is only a plus for some, but it’s not a big
deal. Showing up on the date as a completely different person is a turn-off.
You’d probably justify it with a lame excuse such as the bright background, or
the camera flash. But no amount of light or exposure will dramatically affect
your genetics like this.

Doing the Math

Here’s
another nerd serving it savagely. There’s no need to unsheathe that calculator.
He has mentally computed the answer faster than you could press the digits and
hit “=”.

Image credit: pleaseupdateme/Reddit

That many push-ups? We can’t even go past five. Just a thousand would put anyone in disbelief! Your triceps would be aching and your face would be mashed upon the tiled floors if you got anywhere near that. Better make sure you’re checking what you’re posting online as many people can call you out for your lies.

Viral News

This beat Rita Ora’s number of retweets. Guess people are really into information. Austin Steinmetz sparked a discussion claiming.

Image credit: undercvermartyn/Reddit

And that got us mind-blown. But it doesn’t stand for anything. It’s like TIPs; that doesn’t stand for to ensure promptness. Neither does constable on patrol stand for COP. These are just bogus etymological acronyms. News came from Nouvelles used in biblical translations that mean “new things”.

Football Fibs

If you’re a fan of football, then you might commiserate with this next guy. You, too, have probably dreamt of having front-row seats at the Super Bowl. Feeling the excited buzz of the crowd as you watch your favorite athletes battle it out in front of you is an unreal experience.

Image Credit: 9gag

This dude’s experience at the Super Bowl was certainly unreal. So unreal that it didn’t even happen. The poor guy couldn’t afford a ticket, so he took a selfie in front of his TV. Well, at least he has an active imagination.

Disappearing Pens

Look, we get it. The life of a student-athlete can be tough. They have to keep up with their studies while attending countless practices and keeping up with a grueling fitness regimen. It can all start to feel a little bit overwhelming.

Image Credit: bleacherreport

However, we don’t know if lying about your academic pursuits is the way to go. This baseball player was caught red-handed—or, empty-handed rather. He looks to be studiously scribbling in his notebook, except, there is no pen in sight. Hopefully, he is better at baseball than he is at lying.

Hey Porsche

Nothing compares to the excitement you feel after getting a new car. It’s almost comparable to the joy of having a new baby. That’s probably why a lot of people love calling their cars their “babies”. So, we totally get the urge to share the amazing news with random strangers on the internet.

Image Credit: @senoviaa_/ Twitter

Just make sure that the car is actually yours or if it isn’t, be smart about covering up that bit of information. This girl made the rookie mistake of posing next to a Porsche claiming it was her brand new baby while holding up the keys to a Volkswagen. Beware of the zoom button, folks.

Quickest Way To Get Abs

Anyone who has six-pack abs or is working towards getting them will tell you that it’s not for the faint-hearted. The number of hours and reps you need to put in at the gym will test your will and sheer audacity in wanting that kind of definition. It also doesn’t happen in a week.

Image Credit: The_DHC/ Reddit

That’s why when our friend here decided to share his ‘progress’ with the world, the first person to respond called him out. It also didn’t help his case that he photoshopped abs that didn’t match his skin tone at all. The lack of a belly button was just the icing on this cake of lies.

Exposed By Glasses

For people who live in big cities that have a rampant traffic problem, this was a slap in the face. Being stuck in traffic is one of the worst feelings ever, especially if you’ve had one of those workdays when you just wish the day would end so you can get home and relax.

Image Credit: @jailbate/Twitter

This guy wasn’t having one of those days. Far from it, actually. He was just chilling in the car when he decided to post this blatant lie about being caught in traffic when clearly he wasn’t. Next time you want to lie with a photo, maybe check to ensure there aren’t any reflective surfaces around.

For Shame

To this day, the Oklahoma City bombing is still considered the worst incident of domestic terrorism in America. Nearly 200 people lost their lives, and even more, were maimed for life. With a such disastrous outcome, one would wonder why someone would misuse that sad event just for likes and retweets.

Image Credit: quityourbulls**t/Reddit

A list of the victims of the attack is available on multiple sites online, but this person obviously didn’t know that. Their lie actually flew under the radar for four months before someone noticed and called them out for it. This should serve as a reminder that the internet never forgets.

Caught Red-handed

Stealing people’s ideas is something that has been happening since time immemorial. From small things like copying a classmate’s drawing in kindergarten to more serious crimes like plagiarising an essay, it’s a never-ending struggle out here. With social media, things got even trickier.

Image Credits: @antijokeapple/Twitter

Anyone can steal your post and pass it off as their own. It stings because sometimes, coming up with witty captions is really hard! The sad part is that you never even know when this happens unless the person who stole it is as stupid and naive as this one was.

How The Tables Turn

Sometimes when someone says something that’s supposedly public knowledge and you don’t get it, it’s better to stay quiet and wait to research it later or ask someone. There’s no need to embarrass yourself in front of other people like this person did. It appears they read something someone had said about The Great Gatsby.

Image Credits: @c0incelpr0/Twitter

Since they hadn’t read it, they decided to rant about it on social media alluding to the fact that everyone had read the book and it wasn’t a big deal. Needless to say, everyone found out that the poster hadn’t actually read the book they were venting about!

Post The Pic And Go

Everyone loves a good underdog-to-hero story. We love to watch the meek, timid kid turn into the star of the show. The entire Disney franchise is built on this trope—just look at stories like Cinderella. Stories like these just give us warm fuzzies.

Image Credit: PolarLight/Reddit

So, we can understand why this person wanted to give themselves an “underdog” origin story. It’s not as fun to say, “hey everyone, I was pretty and popular then, and I’m pretty and popular now.” If you’re going to lie, though, make sure your audience doesn’t know the truth.

Workplace Tall Tales

Telling white lies on social media is an activity everyone can get involved in—even if you’re a rich and famous movie star. In this case, this actor was caught in a lie by his colleague. Sheesh. Now that is awkward!

Image Credit: jarpad/Twitter

Thankfully, this appears to be some good-natured fun between costars. Jansen Ackles and Jared Padalecki have actually been costars on the hit show Supernatural for 15 seasons. After working together for that long, we are sure there have been other playful antics like this one on set.

Hairy Harry Situations

People lie about celebrities all the time on social media. It is easy to lie about something when you are reasonably certain that the person you are lying about won’t see your tweet. However, sometimes these celebrities stubble across an offending fibber.

Image Credit: HarryStyles/Twitter

Harry Styles was more than happy to clear up this lie. As embarrassing as that is, this guy should be more embarrassed that he called on the man upstairs to validate his lie. Hopefully, no one keeps records of tweets up there or this guy won’t be getting past those pearly gates.

Meme Memories

These days, you can quite easily find yourself scrolling passed meme after meme until they all start blending into one. However, this person must have looked at so many memes that they entered his subconscious as memories. Funny how that happens.

Image credit: sofihernandezbo/Pinterest

Either that, or he saw this interview and decided to craft a lie to tell his social media buddies. You would think that he would have chosen something more obscure instead of a clip from a show that has millions of viewers.

Delivering Truths

Some lies are so strange that we wonder why people bothered to tell a lie in the first place. For example, what does this person gain from this lie other than a few retweets? In the wise words of the rapper Offset, “they do anything for clout.”

Image Credit: tacobell/Twitter

If you can’t read the small text, this guy DM’d Taco Bell and asked how many retweets he needs to get to convince them to start delivering. According to the text, Taco Bell said they would consider it after 10 000 retweets. Good thing the Taco Bell team cleared this one up.

Tattletale Tag

The location tag on social media apps has caught countless people in a lie. Whether they are lying about being on an exotic holiday or lying about which device they’re posting from, the technology on these apps has proven time and time again that it will reveal the truth.

Image Credit: cheezburger

This person wanted to appear to have a secret admirer, but their plan backfired in the most embarrassing way. Now, they just look like a narcissistic idiot in front of all their social media friends. Well, on the bright side, at least they have nice hair.