The Hoax Photo Archive

About the
Hoax Photo Archive

Images are categorized by theme, technique of fakery, and time period. Click on a thumbnail for more details about each photo. Included in the database are photos that are "real," but which have been suspected of being fake, as well as images whose veracity remains undetermined.

Techniques of
Photo Fakery

There are six basic techniques of faking a photo:

1: Inserting details. This includes placing an element from one photo into another to create a composite image, reproducing a detail of the photo by cloning it, superimposing an image onto another, or drawing-in details.

2: Deleting details. This is usually done by extending background elements over the unwanted detail. Or one can crop out the unwanted detail.

3: Manipulating elements within the photo. For instance, adjusting the color, resizing details, or rotating or moving details.

4: falsifying the caption.

5: Staging the scene. This is considered fakery particularly in photojournalism. Varieties of staging a scene include using models and cutouts and inserting a prop into the scene.

6: Taking a photo at a trick angle. The most common example of this is the use of forced perspective.

The Hoax Photo Archive
A catalog of photo fakery throughout history

Years Archived:
1840-1900 | 1900-1919 | 1920-1939 | 1940-1959 | 1960-1979 | 1980-1999 | 2000-2004 | 2005-Present

Lung-Powered Flying Machine. This April Fool's day image of a new method of flying fooled many, including the New York Times. (April 1, 1934)	The Surgeon’s Photo. This is considered to be the most famous image of the Loch Ness Monster. It actually shows a fake serpent's head attached to a toy submarine. (Reportedly taken on April 19, 1934.)	Whopper Hoppers. Giant grasshoppers were particularly popular subjects for tall-tale postcards during the 1930s. (circa 1935)
The Perambulating Skull. Arthur Rothstein was accused of using a steer's skull as a movable prop in order to exaggerate drought conditions in the Great Plains. (May 1936)	The Falling Soldier. Despite allegations that Robert Capa staged this famous war photo, historical research shows that he did not. (September 5, 1936)	The Brown Lady of Raynham. One of the most famous ghost photos ever; it is also almost certainly nothing more than a double exposure. (September 19, 1936)
The Commissar Vanishes. Soviet censors deleted the People's Commissar for Internal Affairs from this photo after he fell out of favor. (ca. 1940)	The Nazi Air Marker Hoax. Pictures of unusual shapes in farmers' fields led to fears that the Nazis were planning an air attack on the United States. (August 10, 1942)	The Master Race. The British Army created this picture of an unkempt German soldier as part of its propaganda efforts. (May 8, 1943)
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. This is probably the most famous photo from World War II. It was not staged, despite persistent rumors to the contrary. (February 23, 1945)	Red Army Flag Over Reichstag. This photo was both staged and doctored in an attempt to create a Soviet version of the Americans' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima image. (May 2, 1945)	The Tydings Affair. This fake picture of Senator Tydings chatting with the head of the American Communist Party may have caused Tydings to lose his campaign for reelection. (1950)
Miss Perfect Profile. The head of a modeling agency added creative captions, such as "Miss Perfect Profile," to the photos of his models in order to get newspapers to print them. (ca. 1950)	The Kiss at City Hall. Robert Doisneau admitted in 1993 that he paid models to stage this romantic Parisian scene. (April 1, 1950)	Venusian Scoutcraft. What George Adamski claimed was a photo of a UFO looks suspiciously like a lampshade with ping pong balls glued to it. (December 13, 1952)
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