KYM Review: The Top Trolls, Rumors And Hoaxes Of 2023

It's a dastardly world out there, evident in the trolls, rumors and hoaxes of 2023. Every year, people think that they can fool the world by spreading misinformation, and the sad truth is that it actually works too often.

This year, we saw an uptick in new technologies, namely AI, which generated believable man-made horrors never before seen. On TikTok, Twitter / X, Reddit and elsewhere, the LOLz were farmed at the expense of others who believed anything from Jeremy Renner's death to a WoW character named Glorpo.

For the love of all things real, let's take a look back at all that was fake in this sensationally silly year.

Donald Trump Getting Arrested AI Art

As the former President was set to be indicted, Boomers and many others fell for this obvious AI-generated ploy.

• Type: Hoax

• Duration: March 2023

• How It Started: Former President Donald Trump was set to be indicted multiple times this year. There were so many Trump court cases that normal people plausibly had trouble remembering what crime he committed when he was yapping about it on Truth Social. Capitalizing on the hype, a crafty internet user generated some believable "arrest" photos showing the unathletic man evading the police.

• How It Unraveled: As the images went viral on Twitter / X, accounts with millions of followers perpetuated the lie that the President was running around New York City, getting tackled by the authorities. Everyone just wanted to be the first to post Trump's mugshot, which wouldn't come until much later in the year, during a completely different indictment.

Life On Europa Leaked Documents

A creepypasta-like space oddity about life on a distant moon boosted curiosity before debunkment.

• Type: Hoax

• Duration: April 2023

• How It Started: Hoax-spreaders and clickbait enthusiasts seemed to use this lowly SpongeBob meme of a fish looking into a toilet a lot this year. Something about its simple format just makes anything believable, including distant life forms on the moon Europa where the Europan Hookmouth is being hidden by the government. To find out more, all one needed to do was visit the link crudely pasted in the bottom left corner.

• How It Unraveled: As the image above spread online, meme creators inserted the blurry depiction of the Hookmouth into seemingly every exploitable template, generating ironic fan art en masse. In turn, someone (somehow) was able to pinpoint the exact origin of the fish's face, revealing it as the cropped piece of Newgrounds game art. To this day, how they discovered the original, uncropped version is beyond comprehension.

U.S. Gas Stove Ban

The so-called "we believe the current thing" sheeple fell into a dangerous trap that turned their kitchen into the 2nd amendment.

• Type: Rumor

• Duration: January 2023

• How It Started: A minor quote from the commissioner of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission took on a life of its own, reiterating that gas stoves were a "hidden hazard" and "any option is on the table" to deal with them. For some anti-government junkies, this read like "they're coming for our stoves" in a country where apparently no one wants an electric burner.

• How It Unraveled: Twitter blue checks quickly picked up on the tabloid slop and spread the rumor like wildfire as seemingly earnest memes that read like libertarian anthems were posted to the platform. The buzz became so loud that the White House had to actually address the claim, stating that the people's stoves were safe. In the end, some of the proposed or enacted bans only wound up applying to appliances being installed in newly constructed buildings, so nobody is coming to rip out existing gas stoves in people’s homes and federal legislators have even moved to make sure a nationwide ban doesn’t happen.

Cartoon Network Hacked by Animan Studios

One of the biggest and lewdest memes of the year purportedly cosplayed as children's TV on an international network.

• Type: Hoax

• Duration: March 2023

• How It Started: Upon first glance, Animan Studios looks like it could fit on Cartoon Network, mostly because it looks like a Hanna-Barbera reject. However, once you realize the subject matter, the idea becomes less plausible. Of course, someone ran with this idea, generating a crusty recording of the Axel in Harlem playing on the big stage: Arabic Cartoon Network.

• How It Unraveled: News of the supposed hack spread across the web, inspiring copycats en masse as other YouTubers wanted to capitalize on the idea. The quest to debunk the legend ensued, but it ended up not being very hard to debunk. In the description of the original video, its creator blatantly admitted that it was "sadly fake."

The Waffle House Has Found Its New Host

One YouTuber convinced his fans to spam a nonsense phrase across the web, inspiring others to blindly join in.

• Type: Troll

• Duration: January 2023

• How It Started: Spammers rejoiced when content creator Jonny RaZeR allowed them to unite under one sentence, related to an imaginary Waffle House finding a new host. His somewhat large following carried on his wish to every social media platform, generating interest as to what the origin of the phrase was.

• How It Unraveled: As people investigated, they discovered the source of the spam, eventually labeling its proponents "sheeple" and back-spamming the nerd emoji to anyone spreading it. As fast as it rose, it died down as its mystique wore off and vanished.

Dan Hentschel

A rising troll star put more than one hoax under his belt, convincing the world that he murdered someone.

• Type: Troll

• Duration: May 2023 – June 2023

• How It Started: TikToker Dan Hentschel took on multiple personas this year, originally earning mainstream attention when he pretended to be the world's worst therapist. In reality, Hentschel had been building his online persona for years, perfecting a style of method acting made to challenge the internet's BS meter.

• How It Unraveled: For many, it took days to realize that his "therapist" act was a lie as screenshots of his screaming Soyjak face spread online. He wasn't done though, later resurfacing with a bald head pretending to be a TikToker who murdered his wife. He faked a news article and even an interrogation tape all in the name internet tomfoolery.

Thug Shaker Central Discord Leak Of Russia-Ukraine War Documents

The internet wondered, Where else would classified war documents leak?

• Type: Troll

• Duration: April 2023

• How It Started: It's already well understood that Thugposters are some of the most devious users on the web with some congregating in the now notorious Thug Shaker Central Discord server. This year, one of its mods (instead of posting Dreamybull memes) decided to leak classified Russia-Ukraine war documents seemingly in an attempt to gain clout among his peers.

• How It Unraveled: Rumors of the leak traveled across the web as the documents also spread, finding reposts in the depths of 4chan and Telegram where whatever the U.S. and Ukraine's war plan was was ultimately foiled. In turn, the FBI was after the Thug Shaker kingpin later revealed to be 21-year-old Jack Teixeira whose Texas home was raided in a hilarious "gotcha" moment.

Ron DeSantis High Heels Conspiracy Theory

A pair of manly cowboy boots raised suspicion over what lengths a Presidential candidate would go to seem taller.

• Type: Rumor

• Duration: February 2023 – September 2023

• How It Started: At the beginning of the year, murmurs about Ron DeSantis' boots arose. Many noticed the odd heel of the Florida man's footwear coinciding with a then-recent increase in his height. He was all of a sudden taller than Tiger Woods in one photo. "Was the Republican Governor secretly wearing high heels? How far had he gone down the Lookism rabbit hole?" his skeptics wondered.

• How It Unraveled: Of course, no definitive answer has been established as any man would likely go to the grave with such a secret. The most damning evidence came later in the year, though, as someone outlined the imagined position of his inner foot with yellow MS paint. The rumor lives on with many of its proponents who are eagerly awaiting each debate night to see if he's still carrying on with the alleged heightmaxxing.

Maia Arson Crimew's 'No-Fly List' Leak

This year's most prominent hacker shakes up the internet, leaking sensitive info with a plushie in hand.

• Type: Troll

• Duration: January 2023

• How It Started: A major case of Literally Me Syndrome was started this year when Maia Arson Crimew, a Swiss LGBTQ+ hacker, leaked America's "no-fly list" on its/her pink blog. To top it all off, she portrayed her process through meme language, including GIF captions and her trusted sidekick Bingle who unearthed the forbidden knowledge with her.

• How It Unraveled: As word spread of Crimew's work, internet-pilled queer people found their new crush, curious about her motives and lifestyle. In the end, she was never actually arrested and was able to add the hack to her growing list of successful ploys like a 2019 leak of hers that gave insight into Intel's data.

Lil Tay Death Hoax

Sadness and shock over the alleged death of 2018's "youngest flexer" was quickly usurped by condemnation.

• Type: Hoax

• Duration: August 2023

• How It Started: Pretty much everyone had forgotten about Lil Tay who sensationalized youth back in 2018, spouting slurs on Instagram and calling her "haters" broke in the same breath. Her social media went dormant for years after that, finally making a single peep this summer with a shocking announcement. Lil Tay had purportedly passed away.

• How It Unraveled: Shock and awe rattled the web as everyone remembered the Boonk Gang era of Instagram with fond affirmations. Lil Tay was dead, but not for long. Skeptics started to wonder why her father could not confirm her passing and why the police departments had never filed a death report. A little over 24 hours passed with no word until, finally, Lil Tay stepped out of the shadows, claiming that her IG had been hacked. People were relieved but also annoyed, wondering if it was all a publicity stunt (and maybe the most ridiculous one ever).
  

Looking for more of this year's best viral phenomena and memes? Be sure to check out our other 2023 meme roundups below:

• The Top 10 Memes Of 2023 — Coming soon…
• KYM Staff Picks Of 2023 — Coming soon…
• A Year On Twitter With Elon Musk
• Top Gaming Memes Of 2023 — Coming soon…
• Wackiest Stories Of 2023
• Top Trolls, Rumors and Hoaxes Of 2023
• Top Viral Videos Of 2023
• Top Slang Terms Of 2023
• Breakthrough Meme Formats Of 2023
• Most Impactful Fandoms Of 2023
• Top Anime Memes Of 2023
• Top Lewd Memes Of 2023