Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia

Please do not attempt to create new hoaxes on Wikipedia; here is why.

This is a list of known historical hoaxes created on Wikipedia. It is not for known hoaxes which are notable in their own right, such as Piltdown Man. Its purpose is to document hoaxes on Wikipedia, in order to improve our understanding of them and our ability to detect them. For the purpose of this list, a hoax is defined as a clear and deliberate attempt to deceptively present false information as fact. Libel, vandalism, and honest factual errors are not considered hoaxes. A hoax is considered notable enough for inclusion in this list if it evaded detection for more than one month or was discussed by reliable sources in the media. This list is incomplete, as many hoaxes remain undiscovered.

Hoaxes can be added to this page if they meet the requirements above. Do not list Wikipedia April Fools' Day pranks or factual articles about encyclopedically notable hoaxes. Start/Deletion date and Length are the dates and approximate time the article was generally visible.

For many of the below hoaxes, you can see an archived version of the deleted article by clicking on its title (see also list of archived hoaxes). Some also remain available from mirror sites. Any administrator can create an archived version of a hoax upon request by following the instructions below.

Suggestions to administrators on archiving hoaxes

Restore the original page and its talk page. Immediately remove any deletion templates from the top. Move the pages without redirect to Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/HOAX TITLE and Wikipedia talk:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/HOAX TITLE. Add the template {{hoax demo}} to the top of both pages. This will create a prominent notification that the article is a hoax, and noindex it. Place <nowiki></nowiki> around any explicit categories and/or interwiki links listed on either page, as well as around any metadata templates, such as {{DISPLAYTITLE}}. Comment out any fair use images. The article may still be in some categories due to the use of templates. Pass the category=no or nocat=true parameter to the template to remove it. If this does not work, consult the template documentation for the appropriate parameter; if it does not have one, either modify the template to accept this parameter, or simply place <nowiki></nowiki> around the template. The article should now be only in the categories "Noindexed pages" and MediaWiki-generated categories like "Pages with missing files". (optional) If any of the images originally in the article have been deleted, insert a description of the original image in italics. Fully protect both pages indefinitely. This ensures that the integrity of the archived hoaxes is preserved, and that they place no burden on project maintainers.

Academic research has investigated the impact and characteristics of Wikipedia hoaxes, and has proposed automated methods for detecting them. Researchers found that the automatic classification system was better at identifying hoaxes on Wikipedia than humans (86% vs. 63% accuracy) and used their algorithm to identify previously undiscovered hoaxes like "Steve Moertel" which went undetected for almost 7 years.

One way to identify hoax articles included examining the article structure and content, its mentions in other articles on Wikipedia (i.e., embeddedness), and features of the editor who created the page. Specifically, hoax articles are likely to be longer than a legitimate article, less likely to have links to other Wikipedia articles, references, images, or other "wiki-like" markup, less likely to be mentioned in other Wikipedia articles before its creation, and more likely to be created by a new account with few to no other edits.

While most hoaxes on Wikipedia are short-lived (90% of discovered hoaxes are flagged within one hour of creation and only 1% of hoaxes persist for more than a year), those that make it past this initial screening have an increased probability of continuing to "survive" and remain a part of Wikipedia for much longer (if a hoax survives past its first day, it has an 18% probability of lasting for a year or more). Compared to unsuccessful hoaxes, successful hoaxes that survive for long periods of time are more likely to include some "wiki-like" mark-up and more likely to include links to other articles on Wikipedia.

Compared to legitimate articles, successful hoaxes generally receive less daily traffic, have a longer median article length (134 vs. 71 words), and include fewer links to other Wikipedia articles when considering their article length.

Hoax articles

Extant for 10+ years

Hoax	Length	Creation date	Deletion date	Size in bytes (last edit)	Links
Abu-Ali Urbuti Fictitious sheikh, the name is a pun (Sheikh Urbuti = "shake your booty"; cf. Frank Zappa's album title "Sheik Yerbouti").	14 years, 10 months	April 7, 2006	February 10, 2021	2,649	Archived version of the hoax
Mustelodon Fictitious extinct carnivore genus.	14 years, 9 months	November 9, 2005	August 12, 2020	1,285	Deletion discussion
Arekh Fictitious anti-religion scholar in medieval Persia.	14 years, 6 months	August 8, 2006	March 3, 2021		Deletion discussion
The Gates of Saturn Fictitious ITV slapstick television program starring Jim Dale.	14 years, 5 months	February 8, 2006	August 7, 2020	1,373	Speedy deleted as "G3: Blatant hoax"
Defauly Creek Fictitious creek in British Columbia, Canada	14 years	December 12, 2006	December 25, 2020		Archived version of the hoax
Nuremberg Plate Fictitious torture instrument used during interrogations. Was previously deleted on the German Wikipedia in 2007 for being a hoax.	13 years, 10 months	July 23, 2007	June 13, 2021		Deletion discussion
Stone Ridge, Maryland Fictitious municipality in Maryland, US	13 years, 10 months	June 22, 2007	May 7, 2021		Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Joseph G. Williams Fictitious country singer-songwriter.	13 years, 7 months	August 4, 2007	March 6, 2021	–	Speedy deleted as "G3: Blatant hoax" Archived version of the hoax
Karsgaard Fictitious Scottish surname	13 years, 5 months	February 21, 2008	August 2, 2021		Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Tim Verfaillie Fictitious biography about a Belgian painter, first created on the Dutch-language Wikipedia and in 2006 here	13 years, 4 months	June 2, 2006	October 6, 2019	1,010	Speedy deleted as "G3: Blatant hoax"
Whimbling iron Fictitious tool	13 years, 4 months	March 25, 2008	July 29, 2021		Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Eric van Viele Fictitious biography about an actor of the 1922 horror film Nosferatu who supposedly sent death threats to the director. Although the subject might have been a real person, this and other extraordinary claims about him, such as that he was executed, had no sources.	13 years, 2 months	April 4, 2006	June 30, 2019	–	Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Harivansa Fictitious Portuguese Indian chapel	13 years, 2 months	October 28, 2007	January 10, 2021	–	Archived version of the hoax
Madrigal Shipping Lines Fictitious Australian shipping company.	12 years, 9 months	March 20, 2008	January 12, 2021	4,680	Deletion discussion
Transformatix Fictitious American new wave band	12 years, 9 months	June 24, 2008	April 3, 2021		Archived version of the hoax Deletion discussion
Vivarem Fictitious Sanskrit word meaning "information"	12 years, 9 months	April 3, 2006	January 5, 2019	542	Deletion reason and identification as a hoax
Bont Fictitious ball game, supposedly from France	12 years, 8 months	August 17, 2006	April 27, 2019	425	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bont
Messenger Premier League Fictitious professional table tennis competition in Australia	12 years, 8 months	September 24, 2008	May 30, 2021	7,540	Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
JBOB Fictitious acronym for "Just a Bunch Of Bytes", said to be a term used to describe unstructured data that does not have a fixed format	12 years, 8 months	October 21, 2008	July 8, 2021		Speedy deleted as "G3: Blatant hoax", see deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Synchronized Football Fictitious variant of association football. The article spuriously claimed it was a popular sport among youth in Norway and also contained a hoax diagram of one of its possible playing fields.	12 years, 5 months	January 7, 2007	June 24, 2019	6,506	Deletion log Archived version of the hoax
Groove Radio Fictional British radio station, admitted to have been created by the editor for GCSE coursework in a 2008 forum post. The article existed as "Grooveradio" until a page move was made in 2019.	12 years, 4 months	April 13, 2008	August 14, 2020	1,037	Internet Archive
Bine (mythology) Fictional ancient Akkadian demon claimed to equip demons with wings in preparation for the Second Coming; also claimed to have actually been a mortal carpenter who died and rose again. Despite having no sources, the hoax was included in Theresa Bane's Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures, published by McFarland & Company in 2012.	12 years, 4 months	April 22, 2005	August 23, 2017	1,112	User talk:Doug Weller/Archive 46#Bine (mythology) hoax article
Chu Chi Zui Fictitious Chinese bishop	12 years, 3 months	April 1, 2006	July 21, 2018	940	Deletion discussion
The Deadweights Fictitious American punk rock band; was part of a semi-walled garden of hoax articles about the band's alleged discography	12 years, 3 months	September 16, 2007	December 28, 2019	14,957	Deletion discussion Teahouse report
Spanish tickler Claimed medieval torture device also known as Cat's paw	12 years, 2 months	December 15, 2005	March 2, 2018	1,398	Rationale for deletion
Lollie Alexi Devereaux Fictitious French actor and opera singer	12 years, 1 month	September 26, 2008	November 22, 2020		Archived version of the hoax
Milk Studios Fictional speciality products retailer in Sweden.	11 years, 8 months	December 7, 2004	August 31, 2016	1,123	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Milk Studios A number of other organizations appear to exist which share this name but are actual studios or music studios.
Global Open University Indian degree mill posing on Wikipedia as a real university	11 years, 8 months	November 3, 2008	July 16, 2020		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Global Open University Archived version of the hoax
Mauser C6 Fictitious firearm produced by Mauser	11 years, 6 months	November 1, 2009	May 24, 2021		Deletion discussion
Teddy Dressing Fictitious children's book about dressing.	11 years, 7 months	December 29, 2008‎	August 27, 2020	1,070	Deletion discussion
George K. Broomhall Fictitious brevet general during the American Civil War who was also credited with the invention of cream soda.	11 years, 5 months	July 21, 2006	January 5, 2018	2,622	Identification of hoax
Lipid therapy Fictitious medical treatment	11 years, 1 month	September 23, 2008	November 13, 2019		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lipid therapy Archived version of the hoax
Sheer Perfection Purported HBO miniseries, either fictitious or abandoned extremely early in development.	10 years, 10 months	August 31, 2005	July 19, 2016	419	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sheer Perfection
Christopher Hamilton Fictitious Anglo-Irish politician and commander	10 years, 9 months	February 10, 2010	November 20, 2020		Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
48 Belgrave Square London house falsely alleged to have been owned by fictitious Anglo-Irish politician and commander Christopher Hamilton (see above)	10 years, 9 months	February 10, 2010	November 19, 2020		Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Courts (village) Fictional village in Graubünden, Switzerland.	10 years, 9 months	March 11, 2009	January 9, 2020	450	Speedy deleted as "G3: Blatant hoax: per PROD, obvious hoax by indef-blocked sockmaster"
Théophile Figeys Alleged major general in the Belgian army	10 years, 3 months	February 19, 2010	June 8, 2020	1,245	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Théophile Figeys, archived version of the hoax
Jack Robichaux Fictional 19th-century serial rapist in New Orleans	10 years, 1 month	July 31, 2005	September 3, 2015	1,164	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jack Robichaux Archived version of hoax: [1] Please note: John Robichaux was a different, real, nineteenth-century New Orleans personality. article on i100

Extant for 8–9 years

Hoax	Length	Creation date	Deletion date	Size in bytes (last edit)	Links
Maddi Fairthorne Fictitious president of the World Bank from 1985 to 1988. In reality, Alden W. Clausen and Barber Conable held the office during that time.	9 years, 11½ months	September 1, 2006	August 25, 2016		Maddi Fairthorne deletion log Archived version of hoax: [2]
Guillermo Garcia Imaginary "highly influential" oil and forestry magnate in 18th-century South America	9 years, 10 months	November 17, 2005	September 19, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Guillermo Garcia (businessman)
Jar'Edo Wens Fictional Australian Aboriginal deity, presumably named after "Jared Owens".	9 years, 9 months	May 29, 2005	March 3, 2015	539	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jar'Edo Wens. Archives: English article, English article's revision history. Note also: French translation, Revision history of French article, Wikidata entry, Revision history of Wikidata entry Encyclopedia article about the hoax
Pikes on Cliffs Fictional Spanish coastal house, claimed as the 16th-century home of a nonexistent Irish sailor who survived a death sentence from Sir Francis Drake.	9 years, 8½ months	March 17, 2005	December 5, 2014	936	Pikes on Cliffs deletion log Archived hoax: [3]
Salvadorian Magpie Fictional bird allegedly found in Jamaica	9 years, 8 months	March 7, 2011	November 24, 2020	1,020	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Salvadorian Magpie
World Laparoscopy Hospital Fictitious Indian hospital, actually an apparent scam	9 years, 7 months	November 27, 2010	June 28, 2020		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/World Laparoscopy Hospital Archived version of the hoax
Gregory Namoff An "internationally known" but nonexistent investment banker, minor Watergate figure, and U.S. Senate candidate.	9 years, 6½ months	June 17, 2005	January 13, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Gregory Namoff Archive
Izana Fictional Incan creation myth	9 years, 6½ months	October 25, 2010	May 11, 2020		AFD nomination, archived article
Double Hour Supposed German and American television show, covering historic events over a two-hour span.	9 years, 6 months	September 23, 2005	April 4, 2015		Double Hour (TV series) deletion log Archived version of hoax: [4]
Sean Mann "Allan K. Wood Distinguished Professor of Bioethics and Korean language" at the University of California, Berkeley, with a remarkable but totally fake career as a bioethicist, theologian, and anarchist.	9 years, 6 months	October 6, 2005	April 5, 2015	6,819	Sean Mann deletion log
Snappy & friends Supposed animated show	9 years, 5½ months	March 6, 2005	August 22, 2014	958
Conchobar Mac Con Raoí Fictitious inhabitant of Galway, Ireland who lived (or claimed to live) 280 years from 1300 to 1580. References mentioned an Irish historian as source, but this author's work does not mention the subject.	9 years, 4½ months	December 14, 2009	May 5, 2019	1,427	deletion discussion
Blood Eagle (band) Supposed British band	9 years, 3½ months	December 30, 2005	April 21, 2015		deletion log, addition at Blood eagle
Nicholas Burkhart Fictitious 17th-century legislator in the House of Keys on the Isle of Man.	9 years, 2 months	July 19, 2006	September 26, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Nicholas Burkhart
Henry Vaughan Fictitious 18th-century landowner, supposedly killed by a mob and buried at the Radnorshire Arms in Presteigne.	9 years, 1½ months	October 28, 2005	December 11, 2014		Henry Vaughan deletion log Related hoax material removed in stages from Radnorshire Arms during November & December 2014. Original creation with multiple hoaxes at Radnorshire Arms Main hoax removal Removal of additional hoax information about hotel
Rich Bradford Supposed New Mexico Lobos football player, falsely listed as an Outland Trophy nominee and credited with a key play in the California Raisin Bowl.	8 years, 11½ months	May 1, 2007	April 16, 2016	1,277	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Rich Bradford. The author Mosaicbull (talk · contribs) and his sock LoboSportsBureau (talk · contribs) created Fumble Rumble and Las Vegas All-Star Classic to support the story and created links in a number of existing articles. Las Vegas All-Star Classic lasted two months and was deleted as a content fork rather than as an hoax. Although it linked to Fumble Rumble no suspicions were aroused. Fumble Rumble was re-created twice and survived for more than a year and was deleted for lack of notability with just a suspicion that it might be an hoax. And although it linked to Rich Bradford suspicions were again not aroused.
Hey Everybody Fictional album	8 years, 11 months	January 5, 2008	December 16, 2016	2,060	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hey Everybody
Emilia Dering Long-lived article about a non-existent 19th-century German poet started with the basic "Emilia Dering is a famous poet who was born in Berlin, Germany on April 16, 1885" and immediately given an image of Mark E. Smith by a single purpose account	8 years, 10 months	December 6, 2006	October 6, 2015	643	Emilia Dering deletion log; deleted via A7. On the same day of the article's creation, a person claiming to be the granddaughter of Emilia Dering made a blog post with an attributed poem supposedly by her.
To the Hills with Thee, Angharrad Nonexistent one-man play set in Wales, the United States, and Vietnam, falsely ascribed to Boyd Clack; cited a fake review by Kenneth Tynan.	8 years, 8 months	December 2, 2006	August 10, 2015		Deletion log
Doni Kochev Imaginary 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary against the Ottoman Empire.	8 years, 7 months	January 19, 2007	August 31, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Doni Kochev
Bodhi stones Supposed mythical stones carved from Mount Meru and distributed among eight elders in eight villages because of their sacred powers; falsely sourced to the Mahabharata before G3 deletion.	8 years, 7 months	August 15, 2006	March 16, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bodhi stones Archived version of hoax: [5]
Jeffrey Boehm Fictitious British naval officer with supposed feats in battle at Grenada, the Saintes, and Trafalgar.	8 years, 6½ months	January 23, 2007	August 11, 2015	3,344	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jeffrey Boehm
Catherine Higgins Nonexistent TV actress, supposedly noted for roles on the imaginary ABC shows Death Reward and Ocatavius Merredrew; G3 deletion.	8 years, 6 months	January 19, 2007	July 18, 2015		Catherine Higgins deletion log Archived version of hoax: [6]
Library of Amartya Fictional library.	8 years, 5½ months	January 13, 2007	July 4, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Library of Amartya.
Near Dark (unfinished film) Nonexistent remake, based on claims of a remake that was cancelled in the pre-production stage.	8 years, 5 months	August 9, 2007	March 15, 2016	676	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Near Dark (unfinished film).
Medio Oriente Fictitious borough of San Juan, Puerto Rico	8 years, 5 months	September 21, 2010	February 16, 2019		Deletion discussion
Hugh Bruce Cunningham Supposed Scottish minister noted for a fictitious coat of arms and the rejection of a knighthood from King George III.	8 years, 4 months	March 28, 2007	August 6, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hugh Bruce Cunningham Archived at ejje.weblio.jp
Collins Slip Nonexistent instruction sheet included with prescription drugs, based on a spurious 1983 accident in Akron, Ohio.	8 years, 3½ months	November 22, 2006	March 8, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Collins Slip
Eric Heineman Supposed Czech-American mathematician and electrical engineer with reputed academic career at Charles University and Yale in 19th & early 20th century.	8 years, 3 months	August 18, 2006	November 29, 2014		Eric Heineman deletion log Archived version of hoax: [7]
Don Meme A fictitious "mythical, wise guru" in Puebla, Mexico, supposedly the subject of a nonexistent short story collection; also claimed to be a mentor for real-life bands and "an entity that appears as soon as a bohemian party is summoned." Later deleted via G3.	8 years, 3 months	December 14, 2006	March 21, 2015		Don Meme deletion log
Bessa Vugo Nonexistent molecular biologist and collaborator with Jacques Monrod who "famously" had children eat brussel sprouts, and disproved Fouriers Law for Heat Transfer.	8 years, 2½ months	October 11, 2006	January 9, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bessa_Vugo Archived version of hoax: Vugo
Victor Escobar Nonexistent Colombian student at School of the Americas, whose unexplained disappearance supposedly prompted a bill in the United States House of Representatives.	8 years, 2½ months	October 11, 2006	January 9, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Victor Escobar Archived version of hoax: [8]
Chaozhouxieye Fabricated Chinese leisurewear company "best known for their plastic open toe slippers or flip-flops" and apparently worn by Jodie Marsh, Ken Dodd, and C+C Music Factory (whose song "Things That Make You Go Hmmm" also allegedly inspired by the company)	8 years, 2 months	August 20, 2007	October 22, 2015	1,138
Horng fong "Legendary" Vietnamese reptile not mentioned in any sources (including the real sources mentioned in the article).	8 years, 2 months	November 2, 2008	December 29, 2016	2,099	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Horng fong
Jairo Valos Rodriguez Invented American yo-yo champion born on August 26, 1989.	8 years, 1½ months	April 24, 2009	June 15, 2017	2,416
Ted and the Treble Tones Fake rock band from Fresno, credited with an imaginary 1959 hit that appears nowhere on the Billboard charts.	8 years, 1½ months	November 13, 2006	January 1, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ted and The Treble Tones
Daniel de Búrca Nonexistent 18th-century Irish philosopher, credited with fake controversial essays that supposedly influenced David Hume.	8 years, 1 month	October 16, 2006	November 30, 2014		Daniel de Búrca deletion log Speedily deleted (A11) in 2006; article subsequently restarted and survived more than eight years before G3 deletion.
Gaius Flavius Antoninus Supposed assassin of Julius Caesar, claimed to have later been assassinated himself by a male prostitute hired by Mark Antony	8 years, 1 month	June 9, 2004	July 13, 2012	835	Discussion at WikiProject Classical Greece and Rome
Alyse Squillace Fictitious American children's book author	8 years, 11 days	February 6, 2007	February 17, 2015	1,039	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Alyse Squillace
Glamoč Airport Fictitious airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina	8 years, 5 days	February 10, 2013	February 15, 2021		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Glamoč Airport Archived version of the hoax

Extant for 4–7 years

Hoax	Length	Creation date	Deletion date	Size in bytes (last edit)	Links
The Falsetto Basses Fictitious pop band of the late 1980s, supposedly based in Asheville, North Carolina and credited with two nonexistent hit songs.	7 years, 11½ months	April 8, 2007	April 3, 2015		The Falsetto Basses deletion log
Scarlett Montanaro Fictitious British singer/actress	7 years, 11 months	June 27, 2012	May 29, 2020		Scarlett Montanaro deletion log Archived version of the hoax
St Angeline Fake wind-powered "submersible research centre" in the Atlantic Ocean west of England, supposedly designed for the study of life support and land reclamation systems.	7 years, 10½ months	October 4, 2007	August 31, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/St Angeline
Morgan Dee Voon Alleged amateur female scientist and possible mistress of the founder of modern genetics Gregor Mendel	7 years, 10½ months	April 7, 2007	February 23, 2015	3,091	Morgan Dee Voon deletion log Justification at the creator's talk page
Guy de la Bretaigne Imaginary "critic, dandy, and man of letters" in 19th-century France, supposedly noted for his "studied indifference" and correspondence with Charles Baudelaire.	7 years, 9½ months	June 20, 2007	April 18, 2015	3,091	Guy de la Bretaigne deletion log
Wolsebuse Games Fictitious 1990s video game company	7 years, 9½ months	February 10, 2007	December 5, 2014	4,138	Wolsebuse Games deletion log
The Brothers Wing Invented Florida-based reggae band with a fictitious album	7 years, 9 months	March 10, 2007	December 19, 2014	2,130	The Brothers Wing deletion log
PH Games Nonexistent tabletop game manufacturer in India, credited with numerous imaginary titles across multiple platforms. Deleted via prod for being an advertisement, then deleted due to Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PH Games.	7 years, 8½ months	November 6, 2007	July 25, 2015	1,188	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/PH Games
The Vans Brothers Fictitious mid-2000s New Zealand blues band, with a nonexistent album and record label.	7 years, 7 months	January 21, 2008	August 31, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Vans Brothers
Reede-drum Imaginary frame drum from Kyrgyzstan	7 years, 7 months	December 10, 2007	July 18, 2015	2,130	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Reede-drum
TNT television Nonexistent 2001-2002 Australian children's show on Network Ten	7 years, 6½ months	January 16, 2008	August 2, 2015		Last version prior to being tagged as hoax; Article history; redirected to TNT (TV channel) after being nominated for G3 deletion.
James Snipplet Nonexistent 19th-century member of Parliament, poet, and songwriter, supposedly noted for his advocacy of Irish tenant farmers' rights; hoax Twitter account created for support.	7 years, 6 months	February 25, 2008	September 8, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/James Snipplet
Evarts Friedman Imaginary 1910s and 1920s vaudeville promoter, whose supposed career ended in debt, disaster, and conflict with "bailiffs, Mafioso and the Chicago State police."	7 years, 5½ months	June 11, 2007	December 1, 2014		Evarts Friedman deletion log
Mendaxi Fictitious Greek cosmetics company, supposedly backed by Aristotle Onassis and purchased by L'Oreal in 1976.	7 years, 5½ months	February 17, 2008	August 7, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mendaxi
Hector Does Nonexistent 1987 animated Conservative Party short films on political topics (e.g., Hector Refuses to Join a Trade Union), apparently derived from Charley Says; supposedly ordered destroyed by Margaret Thatcher.	7 years, 4½ months	March 21, 2008	August 8, 2015		Hector Does deletion log
Nihil Pop Organization Supposed counter-cultural organization with branches in the United States, France and Italy; allegedly dedicated to "nihilism through pop culture" by means of art exhibitions, fanzines, and terrorism.	7 years, 3 months	June 24, 2008	September 23, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Nihil Pop Organization
Clyde McKnight American rapper; appears to be a real person, however article falsely claimed collaborations with Paris Hilton, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and more.	7 years, 2 months	November 25, 2012	January 30, 2020		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Clyde McKnight Archived version of the hoax
Chen Fang A Wikipedian noticed in November 2012 that The Harvard Guide to Using Sources said that "an Expos student who was writing a paper about the limitations of Wikipedia posted a fictional entry for himself, stating that he was the mayor of a small town in China. Four years later, if you type in his name, or if you do a subject search on Wikipedia for mayors of towns in China, you will still find this fictional entry." No longer.	6 days	February 11, 2005	February 17, 2005		2005 VfD, Discussion on the Admin noticeboard
	7 years, 2 months	September 25, 2005	November 19, 2012
Fictitious works, Cadamekela and Durkeamynarda, attributed to Indian mathematician Brahmagupta	7 years, 1 month	June 25, 2007	July 29, 2014		Talk page discussion added, removed; removed from French and Hungarian Wikipedia in September 2015.
Siete Viejo (gang) Fictitious street gang allegedly founded by Vietnam War veterans.	7 years, 1 month	August 5, 2011	September 5, 2018		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Siete Viejo (gang)
Mr Bennett Goes to Town Nonexistent Nazi propaganda film set in Manchester, supposedly produced in 1937 but never released because of production complaints by Joseph Goebbels.	7 years, 1 month	March 15, 2008	April 14, 2015		Mr Bennett Goes to Town deletion log
Elaine de Francias Supposed illegitimate daughter of Henry II of France; hoax was suspected for years on talk page and taken apart piecemeal before final PROD deletion.	7 years, ½ month	February 28, 2008	March 20, 2015		Elaine de Francias deletion log
J.J. Johnson Fictional NFL player with a fabricated career with UCLA, the Kansas City Chiefs, and numerous teams in other leagues	7 years, ½ month	October 25, 2007	November 15, 2014		J.J. Johnson deletion log Not to be confused with an actual J.J. Johnson who was active in the NFL at the same time
Manfred Jung Fictitious French poet, noted for his equally spurious "philosophical or theological" poetry collection Instructions.	7 years	September 16, 2008	September 26, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Manfred Jung
Gatsby Major Alleged to be Director of Bureau of Fisheries in 1897.	6 years, 11 3/4 months	October 23, 2008	October 19, 2015	1,545	Gatsby Major deletion log
Tony's Home Spectacular but false record (#2 on the Billboard charts in 2006, 376,000 sales in first week) for an obscure rap album	6 years, 11½ months	September 25, 2008	September 19, 2015	2,396	Tony's Home deletion log
Olimar The Wondercat Fictional children's television programme. Author later admitted he made it for his cat.	6 years, 11 months	August 5, 2006	July 9, 2013		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Olimar The Wondercat
Steve Moertel Fictitious inventor of a new type of popcorn.	6 years, 10½ months	March 12, 2009	February 3, 2016		Hoax discovered by researchers from the University of Maryland and Stanford University as part of an academic paper.
George Colby and Colby Pirates A supposed British privateer and profiteer ("Colonial Colonel Cheese Colby"), and his group of pirates, of the French and Indian War (1754–1763)	6 years, 10 months	August 5, 2006	June 7, 2013	1,406 1,211	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/George Colby, Believed by at least one book and many people online
Napalm Brain Nonexistent English psychedelic rock band credited with two fictitious albums.	6 years, 9½ months	February 19, 2008	December 10, 2014		Napalm Brain deletion log
Daniel Pontillas Supposedly a "gentleman thief, master of disguise, and an amateur detective" in a 1905 short-story collection; partial name-change plagiarism of Arsène Lupin.	6 years, 9 months	July 5, 2008	April 9, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Daniel Pontillas
Murder of Andre Marshall Imaginary murder in Bridgeport, Connecticut.	6 years, 9 months	November 30, 2006	August 26, 2013	4,653	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Murder of Andre Marshall
Athanasius of Dendrinata Fictional "negotiator and scholar" in Athens during the 2nd century BC	6 years, 8 months	August 2, 2009	April 15, 2016	709	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Athanasius of Dendrinata via SwisterTwister
Howard's Law Fictitious formula for diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, supposedly identified in 1955 by the equally spurious doctor "Howard Luci-Liu."	6 years, 7 months	October 2007	May 29, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Howard's Law Cited on a MLB.com message board [9] in a totally unrelated discussion about Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard
Milton Bradley Playmate Supposed 600-cubic-foot computer prototype designed in late 1960s to play various board games using a giant robotic claw arm.	6 years, 7 months	January 2008	August 10, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Milton Bradley Playmate
Kings of All Times Nonexistent Yemeni novel, credited to two different dubious authors, about the political and personal challenges of an Estonian and his delusional friend in Yemen.	6 years, 6½ months	April 30, 2008	November 23, 2014		Kings of All Times deletion log
Tillery Band that supposedly perished in an airplane crash on December 12, 1956 en route to a "Lester Concert Hall", which also does not exist.	6 years, 6 months	November 20, 2005	May 14, 2012	380	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Tillery
O-Ha! Nonexistent sitcom on ABC (now TV5) in the Philippines, with only four episodes from 2006-2007.	6 years, 5½ months	October 13, 2008	April 9, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/O-Ha!
Bonehill international Supposed KGB "department for exportation of revolution," blamed for a nonexistent financial scandal in Latvia.	6 years, 4½ months	July 14, 2008	December 3, 2014		Bonehill international deletion log Speedily deleted soon after creation (A1), but article was immediately rebuilt and survived more than 6 years.
Crocodile shears Supposed Medieval torture device	6 years, 4½ months	March 20, 2006	July 30, 2012	1,172	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Crocodile shears Named by Listverse as the most gruesome medieval torture device
Rough Creek Ranch Supposed ranch in Oklahoma which claimed to be "the first parcel to be purchased in a long-term plan to re-establish the equivalent of conditions in Oklahoma which existed prior to the arrival of Europeans in the 16th through 18th centuries."	6 years, 3½ months	September 5, 2006	December 15, 2012	546	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Rough Creek Ranch
Assorted made-up political parties in Kosovo Democrat Republic Party Christian Party of Kosovo Union of Kosovo Party Serbian Union of Kosovo & Metohija Peoples Party of Kosovo	6 years, 3 months	October 11, 2008	January 17, 2015	416	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Democrat Republic Party
The Travails and Tribulations of Geoffrey Peacock Fictional novel alleged to have been written by Huxley, the book was listed on Huxley's article in 2008 and an article on the novel was written in May 2014, prompting its detection.	6 years, 3 months (inclusion on Huxley's page)	February 25, 2008	May 14, 2014	7,203	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Travails and Tribulations of Geoffrey Peacock
1978–79 Boston College basketball point shaving scandal Player Joe Streater was alleged to have been involved, even though he wasn't even a member of the team that year. Only identified after spreading to numerous sources, including the Associated Press.	6 years, 2 months	August 12, 2008	October 8, 2014		Signpost article
Hasan Masurica Claimed inventor/engineer who built an airplane out of wood in 1899.	6 years, 2 months	March 6, 2012	May 1, 2018		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hasan Masurica
Rhys Hopkin Supposed Newcastle Falcons rugby player and politician, with fabricated career as mayor of Durham and a brother claimed to be Labour MP for Wells; deleted via G3.	6 years, 1 month	June 27, 2009	August 6, 2015		Rhys Hopkin deletion log
Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment Indian degree mill presented as a legitimate academic institution	6 years, ½ month	June 18, 2014	June 30, 2020		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Indian Institute of Ecology and Environment
Victoria Jade Meyers Non-existent Australian actress	6 years	February 13, 2013	February 18, 2019	1,891	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Victoria Jade Meyers. Article creator previously also created an article on another likely fabricated Australian actress, Cheyenne Carthy, which was quickly caught and deleted.
Kunhar River Spot-Boi Fictitious river in Pakistan	5 years, 11½ months	November 18, 2014	October 31, 2020		Archived version of the hoax
Sura of Parthia Fictitious Iranian warrior princess, non-existent daughter of the real Ardavān V, last king of the Parthian empire. Hoax only discovered after both fooling a senior academic and also inspiring another woman to change her name in honour of this imaginary princess.	5 years, 11 months	June 3, 2012	May 3, 2018		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sura of Parthia Archived version of hoax: [10]
WWVS-LP Fictitious American TV station	5 years, 11 months	October 4, 2014	September 2, 2020		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/WWVS-LP Archived version of hoax
Saint Ofelia Alleged Danish Catholic saint and disciple of Saint Ansgar	5 years, 10 months	June 8, 2008	April 14, 2014	521	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Saint Ofelia
Mark L. Smith (musician) Fictitious American pianist	5 years, 10 months	March 15, 2015	January 19, 2021		Archived version of the hoax
Operation Pax Romana Fictitious Nazi program to expand the Holocaust in Romania, directed by a fake "Colonel Johannes Jodl" before his supposed escape to Brazil; hoax was revealed in a 2010 edit but self-reverted and survived five more years.	5 years, 10 months	May 26, 2009	March 29, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Operation Pax Romana
Gold Tea Supposed brand of tea from the Confederate States of America. Originally an unsourced stub, it was later expanded to claim that gold flakes were put into the tea for smuggling to the north.	5 years, 9 months	May 17, 2005	February 16, 2011	1,163	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Gold Tea
Unit 773 Imaginary Japanese biological weapons unit in the imaginary Chinese city of "Songo", created by a banned user	5 years, 9 months	October 7, 2006	July 3, 2012	805	Unit 731 is a similar actual article The imaginary Unit 773 fooled at least one website [11] and one book.[12]
Nevsky (Russian mafia) Alleged organized crime family in Russia and the United States; supposedly reduced drastically through "constant wars with rival criminal families."	5 years, 8½ months	July 6, 2009	March 31, 2015	3,024	Nevsky (Russian mafia) deletion log
Gideon Planke Fictitious 17th-century witch-finder active in Shropshire, supposedly the subject of a 19th-century poem used to "enforce good behaviour on unruly children before bedtime."	5 years, 7 months	September 8, 2009	April 20, 2015		Gideon Planke deletion log Believed by a book before G3 deletion.
La Croix du Sanguine Rouge A supposed novel by a non-existent French writer that was released in French and English.	5 years, 7 months	March 6, 2010	October 3, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/La Croix du Sanguine Rouge
Japan Television Service Nonexistent TV network broadcasting in both Japan and the United Kingdom.	5 years, 6½ months	February 7, 2010	September 3, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Japan Television Service
Katiba Ketubah Fictitious reality TV series	5 years, 6 months	December 6, 2014	June 10, 2020		Archived version of the hoax
George P. Burdell Various fictitious additions in articles on a race car driver, a record producer, a West African Colonial figure. Part of a group of seven long lasting vandalisms.	5 years, 6 months	June 28, 2009	December 23, 2014		Addition, Removal Addition, Removal Addition, Removal
Digital Lady Nonexistent San Francisco rock band that supposedly included the brother of the White House press secretary and used acoustic guitars and kitchen utensils to simulate the Moog synthesizer. Survived more than five years before G3 deletion.	5 years, 6 months	December 2008	July 12, 2014		Digital Lady deletion log
Bicholim conflict Fictitious conflict between the Portuguese rulers of Goa and the Maratha Empire which supposedly took place from mid-1640 to early 1641. It was assessed as a good article in September 2007, but failed a featured article nomination the next month as page numbers were not provided for references. ShelfSkewed (talk · contribs) investigated these references in 2012 and found that the main works cited do not actually exist. One of the longest and most elaborate hoax articles on Wikipedia. Probably the only one to have been assessed as a good article.	5 years, 5½ months	July 4, 2007	December 29, 2012	33,577	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bicholim conflict Reference at Daily Dot and Yahoo! News
Joswig syndrome Fake hereditary disease, supposedly identified by "H. Joswig M.D." in 1882; cited made-up reference from United States National Library of Medicine.	5 years, 5½ months	June 24, 2009	December 18, 2014		Joswig syndrome deletion log. Archived by Abebooks.com
Majeed Pejajj Fictitious Muslim cleric	5 years, 5½ months	April 8, 2007	September 21, 2012	1,110	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Majeed Pejajj
Lloyd 2: Growing Up Nonexistent 2003 film, supposedly a sequel to 2001's Lloyd.	5 years, 4 months	May 6, 2010	September 10, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Lloyd 2: Growing Up
Midnight in Oklahoma Supposed alternative rock-country band with seven fictitious albums	5 years, 4 months	April 26, 2009	August 27, 2014		Midnight in Oklahoma deletion log
Corey Petryschuk Supposed football player and famous musician	5 years, 3½ months	October 9, 2010	January 30, 2015	6,445	Petryschuk Corey Petryschuk deletion log
K890 (G3) Fictitious submachine gun.	5 years, 3½ months	November 22, 2006	March 1, 2012	1,614	Included in book by Source Wikipedia
Antón de Palategui Fictitious 16th century conquistador and poet.	5 years, 3½ months	December 4, 2008	March 17, 2014	6,194	deleted by PROD
Bobohetti Made-up Indian dish "consisting mainly of bay leaves and bamboo shoots," supposedly popular at fast food restaurants in Europe.	5 years, 2½ months	May 13, 2010	July 28, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bobohetti
Limping duck Nonexistent and highly unconventional form of wushu	5 years, 2½ months	August 3, 2009	October 15, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Limping duck
Chad Berryman Imaginary baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies during World War II	5 years, 2 months	August 4, 2010	October 13, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Chad Berryman
Reich Corps of the Trombone (G3) fictitious Nazi organization of trombonists created by Joseph Goebbels for propaganda purposes	5 years, 2 months	January 29, 2006	March 31, 2011	3,389	Confession on Slashdot Axis History Forum image at ookaboo
Elijah Joel Smith A fictitious British athlete, educator, and hero of both World Wars supposedly executed in Denmark by the SS for helping Jews escape the Holocaust.	5 years, 2 months	September 24, 2009	November 24, 2014		Elijah Joel Smith deletion log
Ernest Luxembourg Wright Fictitious Massachusetts poet and writer of the early 20th century; deleted via G3	5 years, 1½ months	June 1, 2010	July 18, 2015		Ernest Luxembourg Wright deletion log
Ooranayakanvalasu Nonexistent village in Indian state of Tamil Nadu	5 years, 1 month	November 9, 2009	December 9, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ooranayakanvalasu
A Condor's Fire: a novel Nonexistent, anagram-based novel ascribed to "Richie F'lin" and set in Colorado. Hoax cited made-up reviews from the New York Times Book Review and a fake biography from Oxford University Press.	5 years, ½ month	July 26, 2009	August 18, 2014		G3 deletion: A Condor's Fire deletion log
Childhood Retournade Nonexistent 1980s experimental French film, attributed to the invented filmmaker "Je Suis."	5 years, ½ month	November 20, 2009	December 12, 2014		Childhood Retournade deletion log
The Restless Nevers Fictitious Washington band with false claims of touring with Kajagoogoo in the 1990s. Article was deleted (A7) in August 2009, but resurfaced the same day and survived five years.	5 years, ½ month	August 1, 2009	August 22, 2014		The Restless Nevers deletion log
The Derby Series of The Table A series of horse races in Kentucky and Tennessee	4 years, 10 months	May 12, 2011	March 16, 2016	3,230	Spotted by SwisterTwister
Hinckley Band of Thieves	4 years, 9½ months	August 31, 2005	June 16, 2010	664	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hinckley Band of Thieves
Joseph Warshaw "one of the least Known Highwayman": speedily deleted, then {{hoax}} tagged and prodded when recreated the day it was started, but it took more than four years until it was deleted once more	4 years, 9½ months	February 17, 2006	December 3, 2010	1,057	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Joseph Warshaw
Disney's Wide World of Sports Challenge A hoax page for a non-existent Disney sports challenge.	4 years, 9½ months	April 1, 2010	January 25, 2015	2,509
Warren Chaney Series of articles written about Warren Chaney, filled with small deceptions and embellishments, and in the case of at least one article (Magic Mansion), outright fabrications.	4 years, 9 months	March 11, 2011	December 13, 2015	52,209	A technical overview of the process (including links to the AfDs) can be found here and a narrative overview here. This was also listed at Gawker as one of "The 10 Best Articles Wikipedia Deleted This Week"
Bandicoda seed Seed of a fictitious tree species (Bandicoda genrea), supposedly found in Zimbabwe and the English town of Barnsley.	4 years, 9 months	April 29, 2010	February 1, 2015		Bandicoda seed deletion log
E'tedalion Party Fictional Iranian political party	4 years, 8½ months	February 12, 2010	October 25, 2014	1,247
Never Be Alone (series) Fictional Philippine TV series	4 years, 8 months	September 19, 2016	June 1, 2021		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Never Be Alone
Sam Sackey Fictional 1980s soccer star for Ghana	4 years, 8 months	March 20, 2010	November 24, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sam Sackey
Gottfried Eschenbach Non-existent German "composer, conductor and virtuoso violist"	4 years, 8 months	January 10, 2010	September 10, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Gottfried Eschenbach
Blue Blue Sky Nonexistent 1998 film, winner of the imaginary "Andrew Smith award for Best Musical Comedy" and nominee for two "Dutch Acknowledgement movie awards."	4 years, 7½ months	August 31, 2010	April 18, 2015		Blue Blue Sky deletion log
Argusto Emfazie Fictitious American occultist	4 years, 7½ months	February 25, 2002	October 5, 2006	5,080	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Argusto Emfazie
V-Jay's Verghjesles Fictitious "micro-processor controlled surround sound amplifier"; listed nonexistent parts and specifications from Texas Instruments and other actual companies.	4 years, 7 months	January 24, 2011	September 1, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/V-Jay's Verghjesles
Hilfiger High School	4 years, 6½ months	July 14, 2008	February 4, 2013	1,371	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hilfiger High School
Cranmore chase Nonexistent race involving Victorian-era runners hired by local landowners to deliver titles to land in India.	4 years, 5½ months	July 15, 2010	December 29, 2014		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cranmore chase Cited as the inspiration for an actual modern 10-kilometer run in Somerset.
EuroNation 1 London Fabricated European singing competition	4 years, 5 months	May 16, 2011	October 22, 2015	1,630
Ebenezer Crummett 18th-century American soldier, falsely credited with saving the Marquis de Lafayette and challenging Alexander Hamilton to a duel.	4 years, 4½ months	August 24, 2010	January 22, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ebenezer Crummett
The Rock Gang Made-up 1980s Swedish rock band with several fictitious albums, noted for using a vacuum cleaner as a saxophone; deleted via G3.	4 years, 3 months	June 2011	September 5, 2015		The Rock Gang deletion log
Fredrick Joseph Logan Fictitious 19th-century graphic designer, credited with the equally fake "Logan's Law" regulating maximum widths of business logos in advertising.	4 years, 2½ months	June 8, 2011	August 30, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Fredrick Joseph Logan
Manão Fictitious mountain village in Portugal	4 years, 2½ months	April 30, 2007	July 14, 2011	845	PROD deleted
Martin Coleman (American football) The story of a non-existent American football player who played for Clemson, Pitt, and the Oakland Raiders. It was recreated several days after deletion and lasted for nearly another month before being deleted again.	4 years, 2½ months	November 5, 2006	January 23, 2011	2,520	See also Martin I. Coleman
Jesse Aaron Richardson Reputed author of the spurious Rotten Apple graphic novel series about a New York bounty hunter's journey into "organized crime, drug dealing, corruption, private investigation, cults, serials [sic] killers, unlicensed boxing, treasure hunting, hired assassinations, and more."	4 years, 1½ months	October 7, 2010	November 26, 2014		Jesse Aaron Richardson deletion log
The Vanderdark Morgue Fictitious morgue and family created to promote a local Kentucky Halloween attraction	4 years, 1 month	July 26, 2011	August 25, 2015	17,133	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Vanderdark Morgue
Bryan J. Baldelli Non-existent American baseball player	4 years	February 26, 2008	February 28, 2012	1,977	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bryan J. Baldelli. Listed at Bryan (given name) in good faith. Also listed on German Wikipedia under Baldelli until deletion in August 2014.

Extant for 1–3 years

Hoax	Length	Creation date	Deletion date	Size in bytes (last edit)	Links
Wollen-Blohm Prize Made-up $10,000 annual award for achievements in philanthropy and economics, attributed to an "unidentified Singaporean patron of the arts."	3 years, 11½ months	October 14, 2011	September 30, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Wollen-Blohm Prize
Imhyre Kértez Fictitious Hungarian actor at the National Theatre in Warsaw, supposedly a victim of the Nazi invasion in World War II.	3 years, 10½ months	November 7, 2011	September 25, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Imhyre Kértez English article created in good faith during 2011 as a partial translation of a Spanish Wikipedia article, the original hoax, which began in May 2004.
Colin Kennedy Fictitious American Old West criminal who supposedly murdered John Sutter's brother in San Francisco on April 9, 1853	3 years, 10 months	April 8, 2009	February 7, 2013	4,563	Prod deleted; see [13]
Altamont Lamina Fictitious British spy in both world wars, supposedly called "The Silent Blade" for his "above-average skills in sneaking, spying, and assassinating."	3 years, 10 months	February 18, 2011	December 17, 2014		Altamont Lamina deletion log
Zechariah Seal Fictitious emblem	3 years, 9½ months	October 24, 2015	August 17, 2018		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Zechariah Seal Was created at Ben Hayim Seal on October 24, 2015, then cut-and-paste moved to this name a day later. Author also created a myriad of images pertinent to the hoax.
Sshiaga-llat Made-up mythological force of chaos, supposedly adored by "ancient different people from the Sumerians to the Asturians"	3 years, 9½ months	January 28, 2011	November 19, 2014		Sshiaga-llat deletion log
Monte Carlo polarization Fictitious business theory algorithm	3 years, 9½ months	March 13, 2017	December 28, 2020
Phoedelia "The ecclesiastical name for one of the stoppers which accompany the cruets used in [Christian] liturgical rites" that no one but the article creator had ever heard of.	3 years, 9½ months	October 31, 2009	August 12, 2013	506	Discovery and discussion. Added to cruet the next day, added to bung in 2011. It was widely believed by people on the Internet, including multiple auctioners. Note that Phoedelia is a real girl's name.
Jean Moufot Fictitious French philosopher and mathematician. Article first appeared on nl.wikipedia, then translated versions subsequently appeared in French, German and English Wikipedias. Hoax was first discovered by the German Wiki and deleted across the wikis within a week.	3 years, 9½ months	September 24, 2004	July 16, 2008	2,298	discussion on nl.wikipedia, discussion on de.wikipedia, mirror with links to discussion
Bunaka (G3) Non-existent Indonesian island	3 years, 9 months	March 18, 2007	December 20, 2010	5,440	discussion
Charles E. Whitmeyer Fictitious North Carolina politician, undertaker, and inventor of the child leash	3 years, 9 months	March 13, 2007	December 16, 2010	4,270
Bucharest Film Festival A hoax created to support an article on Yuri Gadyukin.	3 years, 9 months	June 16, 2009	March 12, 2013	3,394	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Bucharest Film Festival
3G Boyz Completely fabricated contents created by manager to support new band.	3 years, 9 months	December 27, 2009	October 16, 2013	3,540	Prod
Housecoat 3 Nonexistent 1987 American romantic comedy; cited a fabricated review by Leonard Maltin.	3 years, 9 months	December 2, 2011	September 10, 2015	2,352	Spotted and tagged for speedy
Cancun Broadcasting Company Hoax Mexican broadcaster, with "drama, children, news, sports, game shows, entertainment, high definition and more."	3 years, 9 months	October 29, 2011	July 31, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Cancun Broadcasting Company
Eric the sheep Nonexistent graphic novel about the adventures of a super-intelligent Welsh sheep	3 years, 8½ months	February 19, 2011	November 7, 2014		Speedy deletion Deletion log
High Fenton Fictitious English village in County Durham, reputedly noted for an unusual engagement custom involving cheese; deleted via G3.	3 years, 8½ months	September 22, 2012	June 5, 2016		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/High Fenton
Jûtien-Gustave DuRoi and Sallah Ukhmed Fictitious husband-and-wife writers, with a list of works that was expanded over time	3 years, 8 months (DuRoi)	June 9, 2006	February 7, 2010 (DuRoi)	1,970 and 1,161	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jûtien-Gustave DuRoi Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sallah Ukhmed
Eurygaster confidens Nonexistent bug species; deleted via G3.	3 years, 8 months	September 29, 2013	May 26, 2017		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Eurygaster confidens
Loretta Scott Crew Fictitious inventor of S'mores, where it was also reported. Has been incorrectly included in printed books and numerous websites.	3 years, 7½ months	July 1, 2009	February 13, 2013		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Loretta Scott Crew
Another Demonstration of the Cliff-Guibert Fire Hose Reel, Showing a Young Girl Coming from an Office, Detaching Hose, Running with It 60 Feet, and Playing a Stream, All Inside of 30 Seconds Made-up short silent film from 1900 from IMDb.	3 years, 7½ months	May 19, 2013	January 10, 2017	946	This one is IMDb's fault; this hoax was made on their site in ~2003 or so, and it was probably mirrored onto Wikipedia in good faith. After some pestering, IMDb eventually agreed to delete their entry as well.
Grâce à feu et aux flammes Nonexistent composition by Claude Debussy, supposedly discovered under floorboards in his house; deleted via G3.	3 years, 7 months	September 5, 2011	April 10, 2015		Grâce à feu et aux flammes deletion log
Yuri Gadyukin Fictitious Soviet filmmaker defected to the UK and murdered there in 1960 at the age of 28. Apparently, was created to support a low-budget movie.	3 years, 7 months	August 3, 2009	March 6, 2013	8,304	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Yuri Gadyukin; explanation of history and purpose
Shantal Méndez 4-time Grammy Winner, or so the article said of this hypothetical singer	3 years, 7 months	September 27, 2007	May 3, 2011	5,332	Discussion at Wikipedia talk:Unreferenced_BLP_Rescue
Saint Elizabeth College Fictitious liberal arts college in Youngstown, Ohio, supposedly with 3,500 students, 30 programs, 116 years of history, yet zero record of its existence.	3 years, 6 months	August 3, 2011	February 9, 2015		G3 deletion (Deletion log)
Okeke Okonjo Fictitious politician in Lesotho, article cites various sources that do not mention this person.	3 years, 6 months, 29 days	April 18, 2013	November 16, 2016	2,899
Brahmanical See	3 years, 5½ months	August 4, 2004	January 21, 2008	2,230	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Brahmanical See, Mirror and discussion at WR
Upton H. Pennyworth (Prod) (G3 speedy deletion) Fictitious British explorer	3 years, 5½ months	September 7, 2007	February 18, 2011	938	discussion
Pierre Dupont Fictitious 19th-century French painter; several spurious references, including at least one PDF file in a self-published "journal," created to support hoax.	3 years, 5 months	December 3, 2012	May 14, 2016		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pierre Dupont (painter)
Ceasar McKenzie Fictitious point guard for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, claimed to be the 2005 Rookie of the Year instead of Emeka Okafor	3 years, 5 months	June 22, 2011	November 26, 2014		Ceasar McKenzie deletion log
Sarah River List of rivers of New Zealand was vandalized changing "Saxon" to "Sarah", and was later turned into an article by bot	3 years, 4 months	May 18, 2006	September 13, 2009		original vandalism, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sarah River, article now at Saxon River
Pilot Season, a non-existent film directed by Kevin Smith	3 years, 3½ months	April 14, 2011	August 28, 2014	938	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Pilot Season (film)
Trundu An ancient tribe belonging to the Trund civilisation	3 years, 3½ months	May 22, 2006	September 7, 2009	1,042	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Trundu
Por muerte del fantasma de Montero Families Hoax online novela	3 years, 3½ months	May 6, 2012	August 26, 2015		Deletion log
Sei Wee Lim Supposedly an Olympic swimmer from Brunei	3 years, 3 months	September 15, 2006	December 16, 2009		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sei Wee Lim
Morton Schwartz Supposedly a B-movie actor	3 years, 3 months	May 4, 2007	July 27, 2010	1,270	Discussion at Unreferenced BLP Rescue
Flerte Fatal (band) Imaginary Brazilian band, with elaborate set of accompanying articles on albums	3 years, 2 months	March 19, 2015	May 20, 2018		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Flerte Fatal (band)
Clem and Lachlan's Adventures Imaginary Australian ABC teen drama from 2006 to 2012	3 years, 2 months	May 27, 2012	August 1, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Clem and Lachlan's Adventures
Fredric Croix and Quickslide Rick Two supposed 1920s Michigan Blues Musicians	3 years, 2 months	February 9, 2008	April 15, 2011	2,314	WP:Articles for deletion/Fredric Croix and Quickslide Rick
Tors Peerson Fictitious Australian food manufacturer	3 years, 2 months	July 16, 2017	September 13, 2020		Deletion discussion Archived version of the hoax
Kevin Musker Name-change plagiarism of "Charles Ferguson Smith", suspected for 3 years but retained	3 years, 1½ months	February 24, 2006	April 13, 2009	4,333	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Kevin Musker, Revision of Charles Ferguson Smith article was based on
James Geiss Fictitious English whaler	3 years	June 29, 2006	June 30, 2009	2,015	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/James Geiss
Jack Stacey Supposed character ("Chief Resident") during eighth season of ER.	2 years, 11 months	October 3, 2012	September 3, 2015		Jack Stacey deletion log
Soyombo Revival Society Fictitious Mongolian secret society	2 years, 11 months	February 22, 2017	January 24, 2020		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Soyombo Revival Society Archived version of the hoax
Slow Blind Driveway Fictitious blues musician	2 years, 9½ months	November 16, 2006	August 26, 2009	5,705	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Slow Blind Driveway
Mittapalli Nonexistent Indian village, based on old revision of Bandarlapalle	2 years, 9 months	July 23, 2010	April 27, 2013	1,034	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mittapalli
Ocular citrosis A fictional type of eye infection resulting from periodic exposure to acidic substances. Created on 1st April and referred to in other disease articles a few weeks later.	2 years, 9 months	April 1, 2010	January 7, 2013	2,757	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ocular citrosis
Vitus Sebastian Barbaro fictitious member of a real Venetian family repeatedly added to real articles by numerous sockpuppets: Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/Societyfinalclubs, Wikipedia:Sockpuppet investigations/Mctrain/Archive	2 years, 9 months	May 29, 2007	February 25, 2010	1,636	User:Barneca/watch/societyfinalclubs
Richard Hopkins (chess player) and Ruy Lopez, Hopkins Gambit Fictitious chess player and the opening chess moves allegedly named after him.	2 years, 8½ months	December 28, 2010	September 22, 2013	10,882 and 4,219	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Richard Hopkins (chess player) Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ruy Lopez, Hopkins Gambit
Lewis William Walt Fictitious marriage and child added to bio.	2 years, 8½ months	April 8, 2013	January 16, 2016
Ruy Lopez, Marshall Attack, Rombaua Trap Fictitious chess trap	2 years, 8 months	January 7, 2011	September 9, 2013	3,964	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ruy Lopez, Marshall Attack, Rombaua Trap
Jason Donoghue Actor that allegedly had roles in Hollyoaks and Outlander.	2 years, 8 months	December 29, 2013	September 14, 2016	6,036	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Jason Donoghue (2nd nomination)
The Tarsus Club and Murray Chance Articles on a fictitious club and individual created as guerrilla marketing for the film The Conspiracy	2 years, 7½ months	December 17, 2010	August 10, 2013		Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive807#Elaborate hoax articles
Operation Gray Cloud A suppposed operation conducted by US forces during the Vietnam War, which was actually a description of the plot to the film Operation Dumbo Drop	2 years, 7 months	January 1, 2012	August 13, 2014		Added to the article, Role of the United States in the Vietnam War Removed
Olle Halvorssen Suppposedly a 9th century Danish king that should have been the first king of a (completely unknown) petty kingdom centered around Århus and "Sønnestrom" (also a hoax). His son Haakon Ollenson should allegedly have conquered the major part of Denmark in the beginning of the 10th century with the exception of the island of Funen.	2 years, 7 months	February 6, 2017	September 12, 2019	3,465	Deletion log
Rudolph's Greatest Adventures Fictitious Rankin/Bass Productions special	2 years, 7 months	December 7, 2012	July 12, 2015	3,727	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Rudolph's Greatest Adventures
Paul Berowne and McIver-Berowne baronets	2 years, 7 months	December 3, 2012	July 7, 2015		Discussion at Reference Desk/Humanities
Charles Krum & Krum Corporate Alleged businessman and his London-based company	2 years, 6½ months	February 28, 2013	September 16, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Krum Corporate (nomination for both articles and tagged for speedy deletion G3)
The "Cohen-Cruse Ruse" an elaborate set of hoax articles and edits over many articles including the fictitious people Baron Cruse-Cohen, Jean Alexandre Cohen, Jonathan Cohen, Sir David Cohen, and Stephen B. Jacobsohn, and several fictitious synagogues including Beth Sadeh Synagogue and Sephardic Temple Adat David. A small project was formed to hunt down all the various edits involved.	2 years, 5½ months	May 1, 2009	October 15, 2011		User:Vivisel/cohen cruse ruse, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Baron Cruse-Cohen, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Stephen B. Jacobsohn, additions to Salisbury, North Carolina, etc.
Wichita Glade, Florida Fictitious community in the U.S. state of Florida	2 years, 5 months	June 7, 2014	December 1, 2016	587	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Wichita Glade, Florida
Balboa Creole French Fictitious highly endangered French-based creole language, supposedly spoken exclusively by about 20 people on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, an extremely wealthy suburban town in Orange County, California.	2 years, 5 months	April 3, 2010	September 10, 2012	2,875	Blogpost referencing Balboa Creole French as one of "Seven Languages That Are About To Die"
Trembulo Fictitious musical instrument	2 years, 5 months	July 26, 2010 June 12, 2016	December 27, 2012 June 16, 2016	4,656	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Trembulo, Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Trembulo (2nd nomination)
Rothmanhaus Fictitious hotel in Naumburg, Germany. Allegedly the place of death for "wildly popular" ice hockey player Leopold Nosske, who was also fictional.	2 years, 5 months	April 29, 2015	October 2, 2017	1,265	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Rothmanhaus
Långrocken Fictitious Swedish serial rapist in 1893, allegedly searched by undercover policemen in women's clothes	2 years, 4½ months	July 24, 2005	December 8, 2007	1,576	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Långrocken
Peace breaker's muzzle Fictitious torture device	2 years, 4½ months	August 2, 2004	December 10, 2006	934	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Peace breaker's muzzle, added to Torture article, removed
Functional temporalism Postmodern anthropological theory	2 years, 4 months	August 8, 2007	December 7, 2009	1,563	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Functional temporalism
Sean MacLeod Fictional comedian	2 years, 4 months	September 9, 2006	January 8, 2009	4,077	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Sean MacLeod
Be A Star (UK TV series) Fictitious UK talent show	2 years, 4 months	January 21, 2017	May 17, 2019	11,974	Detection, Deletion discussion
Wander Donkey Fictitious adventure game for the Nintendo DS	2 years, 3½ months	May 15, 2007	September 5, 2009	4,283	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Wander Donkey, archived forum confession from September 3, 2009
Thomas Stokes Fictitious English player in the Football League with clubs including Yeovil Town, Grays Athletic, and Southend United.	2 years, 3 months	January 14, 2014	April 21, 2016		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Thomas Stokes (2nd nomination)
Genck Azonho Fictitious Argentinean writer and social reformer of the 1970s, noted for his "extreme moralistic and ascetic views."	2 years, 3 months	April 12, 2013	July 18, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Genck Azonho
Parfact A secret language of Worcestershire teenagers	2 years, 3 months	November 8, 2006	February 1, 2009	7,124	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Parfact
Monvilla Non-existent Shropshire village.	2 years, 2½ months	January 3, 2006	March 21, 2008	577	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Monvilla
Nueces de la Perez Fictitious 18th-century Spanish mission near the site of present-day Corpus Christi, Texas	2 years, 2 months	November 7, 2012	January 14, 2015		Nueces de la Perez deletion log
Matthew Lyons Texas frontiersman and CSA cavalry soldier	2 years, 2 months	February 18, 2008	April 19, 2010	4,156	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Matthew Lyons
Fadl Attraction Fictitious Canadian male porn star	2 years, 2 months	November 4, 2007	January 10, 2010	1,199	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Fadl Attraction
Cindy and the Halo Boy Nonexistent direct-to-DVD movie, supposedly starring Haylie Duff and Frankie Muniz and added to Duff's page.	2 years, 1½ months	March 15, 2007	May 8, 2009		Added, removed; admitted in a 2015 Gawker.com post.
Curtis James Real high-school runner with spectacular fictitious professional career	2 years, 1½ months	October 4, 2008	November 18, 2010	40,549	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Curtis James
The Siccness Network Fictional animated television show that ran on BET	2 years, 1 month	September 4, 2013	October 13, 2015	9,891	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Siccness Network
Shai Bernstein Fictitious Jewish-Russian thinker - Bernstein was actually a student in Houston	2 years, ½ month	September 1, 2007	September 16, 2009	5,352	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Shai Bernstein, had a Hebrew translation
Morris Guggenheim Fictitious son of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who supposedly married a member of the British royal family and became mayor of Charleston, South Carolina.	2 years	August 18, 2013	August 21, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Morris Guggenheim
Moroccans with Disabilities Act of 1992 "Copied from a past revision of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 article".	2 years	September 10, 2009	September 13, 2011	22,359	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Moroccans with Disabilities Act of 1992
Taylor Mowry Fictitious actor; based closely on an old revision of Tristan Wilds	1 year, 11 months	December 15, 2009	November 15, 2011	4,118
The Lying Student Fictitious Czech satirical poem stated to have been written in 1914	1 year, 11 months	January 23, 2015	December 28, 2016	4,291	Failed verification as noted by anon editor at Talk:The Lying Student. This article was nevertheless featured on the main page under DYK
Canyon View Junior High School Fictitious school in Edmonton, Alberta	1 year, 11 months	December 15, 2009	November 15, 2011	5,222
Jeanette Magel Fictitious British High Court judge	1 year, 10 months	February 3, 2019	December 14, 2020		Archived version of the hoax
Five Star Generals Fictitious rock band from Buffalo, New York	1 year, 10 months	June 1, 2013	April 12, 2015		Five Star Generals deletion log
Haď Čarém Nonexistent 10th-century Hungarian Muslim merchant and economist, supposedly cited as an "incipient anti-colonialist and anti-slavery advocate" in later Communist theory.	1 year, 10 months	March 27, 2013	January 29, 2015	14,303	Haď Čarém deletion log Justification at the creator's talk page
Brazilian copperfish Nonexistent fish of the family Characidae, supposedly native to the waters near Rio de Janeiro and forming a "vital part of Brazilian culture and cuisine."	1 year, 9½ months	March 3, 2007	December 18, 2008		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Brazilian copperfish
Noah Chazzman Name-change plagiarism of Steven Pinker	1 year, 9 months	January 17, 2011	October 23, 2012
Juan Gadiel Rosado Colón Name-change plagiarism of Don Francisco	1 year, 9 months	April 22, 2013	January 27, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Juan Gadiel Rosado Colón
Marathonius Granthius (G3) Fake Roman soldier	1 year, 8½ months	August 21, 2006	May 2, 2008	5,337	Discovered when blanked by an IP who warned that it was a hoax
European Tennis Club of Culture (PROD)	1 year, 8 months	November 15, 2005	July 15, 2007	889	Noticed in April 2007 on talk page
Baldock Beer Disaster Was listed on Did You Know?	1 year, 8 months	November 15, 2005	July 15, 2007	2,636	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Baldock Beer Disaster Did You Know entry Discussion Was temporarily made into an article about the hoax before being deleted regardless. Cited as the inspiration for an actual India Pale Ale produced by an Illinois brewery. [14] [15]
Æblerød (CSD) Fictional Danish municipality	1 year, 8 months	January 12, 2004	September 8, 2005	358	Removal from municipalities list, discussion, featured in Danish newspaper Politiken (December 5th, 2006)
Battle of Stuart's Pond	1 year, 7½ months	May 29, 2008	January 18, 2010	2,131	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Battle of Stuart's Pond
Maria Portaro (G3) Fictitious marine biologist with "500 published papers"	1 year, 7 months	March 3, 2008	October 3, 2009	1,618
Dhanunjaya Rao Web developer who poached the career of Ravi Teja	1 year, 7 months	October 7, 2015	May 20, 2017		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Dhanunjaya Rao
Oyster Injustice Fictitious financial disaster affecting Chesapeake Bay fishermen	1 year, 7 months	July 6, 2007	February 4, 2009	2,139	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Oyster Injustice
Earl of Aldbury (G3) Non-existent 17th-century peer.	1 year, 6½ months	May 13, 2009	December 3, 2010	471
Herzthiolate heptahydrolysic acid Hoax genetic molecule with an invalid chemical formula (NaO 2H90− 8Mg 4S 2Ci 2 Al 2Si 2He 4Fe 2CaN 2C), supposedly found in the imaginary "Stenaphyllzone (Plasma life-form)" and sebum.	1 year, 6½ months	February 27, 2014	September 14, 2015		Deletion log
Quaff distillery Made-up name for the still genuinely constructed by mutineers from HMS Bounty on Pitcairn Island in the 1790s. Drink was supposedly also called "quaff" and supposedly gave its name to a enduring worldwide drinking club.	1 year, 6 months	December 30, 2013	June 15, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Quaff distillery. Found its way into Pitcairn Education Work Pack produced to accompany the 2014 play Pitcairn
Ciarán Dunphy Fabricated 19th century Irish author, "a member of Sinn Féin from the Irish War of Independence and a "significant public political figure, as well as one of the chief chroniclers of Irish nationalism in literature".	1 year, 6 months	January 26, 2014	October 22, 2015	9,888
Talinsfadasporia (G3) Fictitious Indian town, mostly cut and pasted from Dibrugarh	1 year, 5½ months	May 31, 2009	November 20, 2010	6,703
Mrs Brown: The Musicals Fake musical comedy series based on Mrs. Brown's Boys, supposedly featuring Broadway songs and broadcast on RTÉ One and BBC One; deleted via A11.	1 year, 4½ months	November 23, 2013	April 18, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Mrs Brown: The Musicals
Anaxiphales Fictitious presocratic philosopher	1 year, 4½ months	February 12, 2005	June 28, 2006	4,384	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Anaxiphales
Count Wladmir Shchwekochov Imaginary 19th-century Russian nobleman, supposedly owner of an estate with "over 300 acres of forest, 5 lakes, a waterfall, 2 farms, a mine, and a 40 bedroom palace with a malachite and gold-plated ballroom."	1 year, 4½ months	March 10, 2015	July 24, 2016		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Count Wladmir Shchwekochov
Elizabethan Lizard Fictitious punk rock band from Minnesota; G3 deletion	1 year, 4 months	November 8, 2013	March 13, 2015		Elizabethan Lizard deletion log
Ingrid Vakaslavik Fictitious tap dancer from Russia	1 year, 3½ months	February 15, 2009	May 31, 2010	993	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ingrid Vakaslavik
Crowborough Caves With "Dr. SP Leo Logist"	1 year, 3 months	April 8, 2007	July 27, 2008	516	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Crowborough Caves. Pun on speleologist. Their hoax website now links back to this page. First detected by an anon who called it "a well known 'fun' story / hoax".
Emerson LaSalle Fictitious author	1 year, 3 months	November 27, 2007	February 27, 2009	3,298	After the deletion discussion had started, the original author rewrote the article to describe the subject as fictional (as well as to criticize the deletion), but it was still deleted.
Freedom Channing Fictitious "conductor" of the Underground Railroad	1 year, 3 months	July 11, 2005	October 8, 2006	1,056	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Freedom Channing
Nippon Super Rugby League Fictitious rugby competition, created along with the equally spurious 2016 Rugby League Asian Series; included made-up teams such as "Saitama Hippopotamus" and "Yohokama S.Yamaga."	1 year, 2½ months	March 6, 2015	May 30, 2016		Nippon Super Rugby League deletion log
Amorica (legend) Given its own article for 8 months rather than deletion	1 year, 10½ months	November 9, 2004 See original article May 24, 2005	January 22, 2006	1,031	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Amorica (legend)
Plathubis the grey fox Made-up hunting myth from Latvia about an amphibious, rain-bringing fox, designed "to warn impetuous young men not to kill animals for fun"; deleted via G3.	1 year, 2 months	February 8, 2014	April 20, 2015		Plathubis the grey fox deletion log
Vengeance On Elm Street Nonexistent "upcoming" sequel to the Nightmare on Elm Street series; deleted via G3.	1 year, 2 months	January 21, 2014	March 28, 2015		Vengeance On Elm Street deletion log
Francis Bunbury (PROD) Non-existent architect; names in article taken from The Importance of Being Earnest.	1 year, 2 months	October 24, 2009	December 26, 2010	2,320	First noted by an anon October 2010
Unbeatables Nonexistent children's show set in Russia, broadcast on the equally fictitious network Bamboo TV.	1 year, 2 months	February 14, 2015	April 13, 2016		Unbeatables deletion log
Jason Waterfalls Imaginary British football player whose name happened to match a frequently misheard lyric in the song Waterfalls by TLC. Created by a single-purpose account overwriting an existing redirect.	1 year, 2 months	November 7, 2015	January 4, 2017		Speedy deletion per WP:G3: blatant hoax. Log
Joshua G. Cantor-Stone (G4) Fictitious Jewish WWII naval aviator and hero	1 year, 1½ months	February 22, 2009	April 11, 2010	6,564	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Joshua G. Cantor-Stone
Eric Radloff Fictitious singer-songwriter	1 year, 1½ months	July 5, 2004	August 23, 2005	2,015	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Eric Radloff
Little Adventures of Bruno Supposed animated television series by Mitchell Hurwitz that would be a followup of sorts to Sit Down, Shut Up	1 years 1 months	October 17, 2013	November 22, 2014	5,976	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Little Adventures of Bruno
Magnesium lasering Article about a fictional scientific practice.	1 year, 1 month	May 14, 2009	June 13, 2010	890	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Magnesium lasering
Earl of Iford Partial name-change plagiarism of Earl of Shaftesbury	1 year, 1 month	April 13, 2008	May 11, 2009	2,276	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Earl of Iford
Federlandese (coin) "Had this "coin" been real, it would have pre-dated the oldest known Scandinavian coins by perhaps ~800 years, so we would have heard of it elsewhere. Also, people in Scandinavia didn't have a monetary economy 2100 years ago."	1 year, ½ month	December 2, 2009	December 22, 2010	693	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Federlandese (coin)
Ladedaism Invented social/artistic movement	1 year, ½ month	July 7, 2005	July 19, 2006		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Ladedaism
Nam Nguyễn Thành Fictitious international soccer player for Vietnam, supposedly recommended by Barry Hayles	1 year	February 19, 2014	February 25, 2015		Nam Nguyễn Thành deletion log
Vanda Varvara Fictitious painter One of the longest and most elaborate hoax articles on Wikipedia.	1 year	January 26, 2012	January 29, 2013	28,171	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Vanda Varvara
Odin's Globe Fictitious Norse mythological artifact of diverse powers ("protection, luck, minor telepathy, slow or speed up time, willpower, support, empathy, understanding, wits, health"); falsely sourced to a nonexistent poem, "Loki's Lunar Lover."	1 year	April 6, 2014	April 12, 2015		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Odin's Globe
The Bierrum Effect Fictitious biological effect occurring in isolated environments	1 year	September 3, 2008	September 7, 2009	3,299	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/The Bierrum Effect
St Forbadil Fake 7th-century Bishop of Mercia and Celtic saint, depicted with the head of a dog and credited with the miraculous invention of beer; possibly created to supply a backstory for a brewery. Deleted via G3.	1 year	August 20, 2015	August 24, 2016		Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/St Forbadil
James and the Pontoons Fake rock band	1 year	July 20, 2007	July 21, 2008	5,947	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/James and the Pontoons
Hevstäf Fictitious Czech village	1 year	October 12, 2006	October 15, 2007	4,822	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Hevstäf

Extant for less than one year

This section lists hoaxes covered for at least one month but less than one year. See Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Less than one year for the full list. This section should list only hoaxes covered in independent third-party sources. Short-lived hoaxes are innumerable and so we do not normally track them — they can be found by searching deletion logs for "hoax".

Hoax	Length	Creation date	Deletion date	Size in bytes (last edit)	Links
John Seigenthaler Sr. Real journalist who had a hoax article in 2005 claiming he was a suspect in the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.	4½ months	May 26, 2005	October 7, 2005		The subject of Wikipedia biography controversy. Widely reported in the press and led to the introduction of the Wikipedia:Biographies of living persons policy.
Edward Owens hoax Article concerning late 1800's Chesapeake Bay oyster fisherman who turned to piracy created as a part of an internet hoax performed by students enrolled in a George Mason University class entitled "Lying about History".	30 days	November 18, 2008	December 18, 2008		After several mainstream news sources reported on the internet meme, students came forward to admit the deception. Survived speedy deletion, proposed deletion and two AFDs (1, 2) as a well documented hoax, before being incorporated as a part of an article on George Mason University hoaxes.
Alan Mcilwraith A "Walter Mitty" character who faked a bio of his supposed military record on Wikipedia. It initially lasted three weeks before being deleted at AfD. It was recreated three times but deleted within a day each time, but then the story hit the headlines in April 2006 and the article was recreated to be about him as a hoaxer	21 days	October 5, 2005	October 26, 2005		The hoax version
Upper Peninsula War Account of a fictional conflict in 1843 between the State of Michigan and Canada over a disputed territorial line in the Upper Peninsula and subsequent secession attempt by the governor of Michigan.	13 days	May 2, 2007	May 15, 2007	24,553	Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Upper Peninsula War
Helen Anne Petrie, Strutt Family Trust South African painter whose falsified biography was seeded on the internet in an apparent attempt to increase the value of artwork. Related names included Sebastian L.S Schwagele, Fan Moniz and PR by a Marlene Duval, User:Marlene Duval	37 minutes	June 19, 2007	June 19, 2007	17,873	Afd discussion, Afd discussion, SSI report, Commons Village Pump London Times article(registration required) South African Art Times article
	8 days	May 1, 2009	May 9, 2009	3,455
	2 days	October 29, 2009	October 31, 2009

Hoax statements in articles

Besides entire articles, there have also been false statements that were added to otherwise authentic pages.

Extant for 10+ years

Claim	Length	Insertion date	Removal date	Links
Claim that the Warsaw concentration camp was an extermination camp that killed 200,000 ethnic Poles (up to 400,000 in the infobox of some Wikipedia versions [16]) using a gas chamber in a tunnel near Warszawa Zachodnia station and other methods.	15 years	August 25, 2004	August 28, 2019	Article creation, TNT on 28 August 2019. Also present in German camps in occupied Poland during World War II for 13 years 3 months (added, removed), Extermination camp for 12 years, 3 months (added, removed), Pabst Plan for 10 years, 5 months (creation, removed), Nazi crimes against the Polish nation for 12 years, 8 months (creation, removed), War crimes in occupied Poland during World War II for 13 years, 5 months (addition, removed. Was also present on dewiki (added 2006 - removed 2009), plwiki(creation 2005 - removal 2016, + additional wikis (probable transations). See London Review of Books which mentions that promoters of this conspiracy theory amended Wikipedia entries to promote this - source 1, source 2.
Claim that there had been a proposal to put a spire atop the Louvre Pyramid "to simplify window washing".	14 years	June 11, 2007	May 31, 2021	Added by a sockpuppet of a banned user in 2007 with a suspicious edit summary and built-in {{cn}} tag. The claim remained in the article, always tagged as unsourced, for over a decade, being removed just shy of the 14-year mark in 2021. The only references on the Web to a spire on the Louvre Pyramid are passing references on blogs, all postdating the claim's addition to the article.
Claim that a 10 metre fibreglass Zulu was discovered in a hotel beer cellar in the Scottish Highland village of Tomintoul.	13 years, 4 months	August 8, 2006	December 9, 2019	The hoax was finally removed when it was mistakenly identified as plagiarising the Travel Scotland tourist site, who had in fact taken their colourful piece of local history from Wikipedia. added, removed
Claim that the 1924 Democratic National Convention was also known as the "Klanbake"	12 years, 7 months	August 23, 2005	March 15, 2018	"Klanbake" meme added, removed
Claim that the Singaporean town of Ang Mo Kio was named after the fictitious "Lady Jennifer Windsor", whose ghost haunted the bridge where her three children drowned.	11 years, 8 months	November 21, 2008	July 29, 2020	Added, removed. In the meantime, the hoax made its way into at least one book [17] and a TV show.
A claim that former UK Prime Minister John Major's interest in politics was partly sparked by "a chance meeting with Clement Attlee on the King's Road."	11 years, 5 months	November 9, 2008	April 15, 2020	added, removed
The existence of Boulder Island, an alleged fourth-order island located within Ryan Island on Isle Royale	10 years, 10 months	May 5, 2009	March 10, 2020	https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isle_Royale&diff=288109348&oldid=286984969
Torvald Hightower A fictitious 18th-century "philanthropic pioneer," who was claimed to exist on the page for the name Torvald	10 years, 7 months	September 10, 2008	May 5, 2019	added, removed

Extant for 8–9 years

Claim	Length	Insertion date	Removal date	Links
Franklin Avenue station (BMT Lexington Avenue Line) Claim that the station was originally named Electric Avenue because electricity was discovered here.	9 years, 10 months	May 30, 2011	March 14, 2021	added, removed
Adam Gilchrist Fictitious claims that Australian cricketer Adam Gilchrist read the works of Karl Marx when on tour. The hoax claim was cited to a fictitious statement in a real book by Australian Captain Ricky Ponting. Only debunked by Gilchrist himself as "someone taking the piss" after the hoax spread to several newspapers, including The Times of India.	9 years, 2 months	February 22, 2009	May 2, 2018	Added here and here, removed. Gilchrist's denial
Claims that Lord Byron kept a crocodile and a honey badger as pets	8 years, 8½ months	November 20, 2006	August 7, 2015	crocodile added, honey badger added, both removed Crocodile mentioned in The Sunday Times
	1 year, 6 months	January 29, 2014
Muhammad Ali "A youth club in Ali's home town, a species of rose (Rosa Ali) and a small child have all been named after him." Apparently added by Telegraph journalist Michael Deacon to trick a friend who was compiling a quiz, and confessed to following the creation of an article about him.	8 years, 4½ months	November 9, 2006	March 28, 2015	Discussion

Extant for 4–7 years

Claim	Length	Insertion date	Removal date	Links
Claim that women in Uganda refer to the Protopterus as a "sister fish" and for this reason abstain from eating them.	7 years, 11 months	March 11, 2009	February 7, 2017	added, removed
A Japan Academy Prize awarded for "Outstanding Achievement in Winning an Outstanding Achievement"	7 years, 7 months	May 12, 2007	December 13, 2014	added, removed
In Bill Mauldin: Mauldin's friend Irving Richtel supposedly served as the model for Willie, a cartoon character of an American soldier. Mauldin served with a jeep driver named Irving Richtel (Mauldin, Bill (1944). News of the 45th, pp. 97–98, 115, 142.; Mauldin, Bill (1971). The Brass Ring, p. 164.) but never said that Willie was modeled after Richtel. After the 2008 appearance in Wikipedia, the hoax migrated to Julian M. Olejniczak's 2015 book To Be A Soldier: A Selective American Military History, p. 143, and it made it into several websites such as the Armed Air Forces History Museum and the West Point Association.	7 years, 7 months	March 9, 2008	October 16, 2015	added, removed
In Microsoft Windows: "The history of Windows dates back to September 1981, when Chase Bishop, a computer scientist, designed the first model of an electronic device and project Interface Manager was started."	7 years, 3 months	September 26, 2010	January 25, 2018	added, removed,
Fictional minor planet "14345 Mousen", named after nonexistent Pakistani astronomer and planetarium director "Mousen Saeed"	7 years, 1 month	April 19, 2012	May 29, 2019	added on March 30, 2012, removed on March 30, 2012, added back mistakenly on April 19, 2012, removed after 7 years on May 29, 2019
Robert Serber Fictitious assassination attempt, fictitious assassin added later	6 years, 9½ months	May 6, 2009	February 12, 2016	Diff
A claim that pyruvate decarboxylation is known as the "Swanson conversion." In actuality, the term was coined by a high school chemistry teacher of the same name, who decided not to remove the reference from Wikipedia in order to encourage his students to be more careful when researching.	6 years, 6½ months	December 15, 2010	June 24, 2017	added, removed Article about the edit
Claim that the fictitious vulgar name "hairy bush fruit" was an existing synonym for kiwifruit. Hoax only came to light after hoaxer admitted to it.	6 years, 5 months	November 6, 2007	March 2, 2014	Addition Blanking Removal
The article on Henry David Thoreau included a made-up quote by Louisa May Alcott about the writer's "neck-beard".	6 years, 3 months	December 21, 2007	March 18, 2014	Added, removed Talk page comment detailing the hoax Medium article about the hoax
Allegation that Brierfield, Lancashire, with its smoking mills, was Tolkien's inspiration for the evil land of Mordor.	6 years, ½ month	March 8, 2006	March 21, 2012	added, removed; was spotted by a blogger in August 2006 but didn't follow up; believed by sources including The Guardian
Claim that the coati was also known as "Brazilian aardvark". Added by a then 17-year-old student as a private joke, the false information lasted for six years and was propagated by hundreds of websites, several newspapers, and even books by a few university presses. The spread was such that the joke indeed became a common name for the animal and was cited in several sources. After the initial removal, the name was reinserted multiple times by users who believed it had become legitimate.	5 years, 10 months	July 12, 2008	May 20, 2014	added, removed
Claim that "Bryan Tyler" and "Mark Sims" were former members of the Eli Young Band.	5 years, 8 months	February 7, 2008	October 9, 2013	added, removed
A wholly fictitious origin story for Amelia Bedelia, the main character of the eponymous popular children's book series: "'Amelia Bedelia' was based on a French colonial maid in Cameroon, where the author spent some time during her formative years. Her vast collection of hats, notorious for their extensive plumage, inspired her to write an assortment of tales based on her experiences in North Africa." After being repeated tens of times, sometimes by journalists and academics, the hoax was identified by EJ Dickson, one of its authors, turned journalist, who had written it as a joke with a friend while "stoned".	5 years, 6 months	January 31, 2009	July 29, 2014	Addition Removal Admission
Claim that the "too slow" variant of a high five incited a war in the rebooted Planet of the Apes film series	5 years, 3 months	August 8, 2014	November 5, 2019	Addition, Initial removal, Final removal The first attempt to remove this was reverted by the original editor because the information came from a seemingly reliable source, but the source was making a joke.
Fictitious claim about Oscar Wilde added to List of Latin phrases	5 years, 2 months	September 19, 2005	November 26, 2010	added, removed, Story and explanation
Nonexistent show named "Porn Stars: the New Age" in List of programs broadcast by History (TV channel)	4 years, 11 months	November 13, 2014	October 27, 2019	added, removed
Lucy Gordon Fake filmography credit added the day after actress's suicide alleging she started her career in the sitcom 2.4 Children.	4 years, 11 months	May 21, 2009	April 10, 2014	[18]
Julius Freed Fictitious claim that the founder of Orange Julius invented auto-cleaning spectacles, an inflatable shrimp trap, and a portable pigeon-bathing unit. Dairy Queen, which now owns Orange Julius, was fooled; the company based an entire ad campaign around the hoax and produced this video about Julius Freed's supposed inventions.	4 years, 9 months	June 22, 2005	March 11, 2010	Reported by Ken Jennings on his blog.
Claim in List of adjectival and demonymic forms for countries and nations that a valid demonym for Guam is "Guambat" (possibly a pun on wombat).	4 years, 6½ months	October 24, 2013	May 13, 2018	added, removed
Reference to "glucojasinogen" in diabetic neuropathy	4 years, 4½ months	October 7, 2007	February 29, 2012	added, removed; original edit appears word for word in S.V. Tembhurne & D.M. Sakarkar (June 2010). "Influence of Murraya koenigii on experimental model of diabetes and progression of neuropathic pain". Res Pharm Sci. 5 (1): 41–47. PMC 3093092. and Talha Jawaid; Ashok K Shakya; Mehnaz Kamal & Sarfaraz Hussain (June 2008). "Amitriptyline and Sertraline in Diabetic Neuropathy: A Comparative View". International Journal of Health Research. 1 (2): 73–78..
Mention of "Ysolo", a fictional eggplant harvest festival in Albania, in List of harvest festivals	4 years, 4½ months	July 11, 2012	November 25, 2016	added, removed, talk page discussion, redirect discussion. For a time, a mountain on Ceres bore the name of this "festival"; upon discovery of this hoax it was renamed "Yamor Mons".
Claim that Adrienne Monnier was best known for a book about an American boy named Bill Monnier	4 years, 4 months	November 28, 2010	March 31, 2015	added, removed
Section on the fictional non-league football career of minor British soap opera actor Will Mellor	4 years, 4 months	January 12, 2007	May 9, 2011	added, removed. Claim was repeated on the website for the artists agency represents Mellor. [19]
In List of mythological objects: Ichaival Romanization of Japanese translation of Ýdalir, used in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War and spread to other media such as Smite.	4 years, 1 month	December 16, 2013	January 21, 2018	Special:Diff/586361279 Special:Diff/821577014

Extant for 1–3 years

Claim	Length	Insertion date	Removal date	Links
Claim that, due to her fame in Japan, female wrestler Kaoru Matsumoto was known as the "Niall Quinn of Joshi"	3 years, 7½ months	October 13, 2008	May 24, 2012	added, removed
Jack Mills and Joey Deacon's Farmhouse Brie Fictitious cheesemaking house that survived on the Hury page for over three years.	3 years, 6 months, 13 days	September 21, 2012	April 4, 2016	Reverted [20]
Former American Gladiator Jonathan Byrne Series of edits regarding an eccentric and non-existent American Gladiator	3 years, 5½ months	June 19, 2006	December 6, 2009	Thirty pages unraveled over a two day period by Jeandré du Toit. First edit Others: [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] Other edits had been previously removed on an individual basis. Believed by people online, including some people who claimed to remember him.
Monarch (butterfly) as Canada's national insect	3 years, 3½ months	December 9, 2004	March 26, 2008	added, removed
Toyota Canarado Fictitious name for a car model	3 years, 3 months	January 13, 2013	April 22, 2016	Talk:Toyota Previa#Toyota Canarado
19th-century invention of the hair iron attributed to fictitious persons, "Erica Feldman" (changed from Madam C. J. Walker) and another name (apparently a classmate) on English and Simple English Wikipedia. Both names are now widely credited on the Internet (as well as in one book) with the invention of the hair straightener [50][51][52][53][54]	3 years, 1 month	August 14, 2006	September 15, 2009	Erica Feldman, I. G., [55], [56], discussion at Wikipedia Review
Rosie the Riveter Original Rosie was Shirley Karp: hoax Original Rosie was Shirley Karp Dick: vandalism	3 years, ½ month	January 16, 2009	January 24, 2012	Historian Max Hastings published in the first edition of his November 2011 book Inferno: The World at War, 1939–1945 (called All Hell Let Loose in the UK): "Another much-publicised 'Rosie' was Shirley Karp Dick, who was paid $6 to model for photos, of which the most famous showed her treading on Hitler's Mein Kampf."[57] A second edition was published October 2012 after the hoax was revealed.
Claim that Khofifah Indar Parawansa's middle name is Tegistha	2 years, 10 months, 29 days	June 12, 2017	May 11, 2020	added, removed, cited in Economic Outlook for Southeast Asia, China and India 2018 Fostering Growth through Digitalisation: Fostering Growth through Digitalisation
Mirsk Famous Residents section alleging this as city where Nicholas Copernicus contracted genital warts from a Mirsk prostitute, as allegedly proved by DNA evidence. Vandalism was removed by Jimmy Wales.	2 years, 8 months	January 15, 2012	September 14, 2014	User talk:Meishern#Do you have any evidence for this.3F, Added: [58], Removed: [59]
Eric Clapton's various girlfriends	2 years, 7 months	May 9, 2011	December 19, 2013	A paragraph was inserted listing 15 women that Clapton supposedly dated. One was Alicia Witt who eventually saw the list and complained on Facebook that it was not true about her. The whole paragraph was supported by a hoax reference initially listing the Boston Beacon which was soon changed to the Boston Globe, even though no such article exists.
Claim that physicist Hans Geiger was supposedly nicknamed "Gengar"	2 years, 6 months	May 22, 2015	November 18, 2017	discussion added, removed
Fictitious "yachting" section on Bridgestone	2 years, 4½ months	September 4, 2015	January 24, 2018	Added to article 4 September 2015, extended July 2017, removed 24 January 2018
Fictitious "further reading" on bullshit	2 years, 4½ months	November 23, 2007	April 8, 2010	added, deleted
Claim that the Cuban township of Guanabacoa's nickname was "Villa de Pepe Armenio", when it was really "Villa de Pepe Antonio". May have been a mistake rather than intentionally misleading information.	2 years, 4 months, 5 days	January 11, 2016	May 15, 2018	Differences between hoax and correction on the Guanabacoa article
Claims that Adams Packer Film Productions produced an animated series named Angel Marble Elijah or Angel Marble Eddy in the 1970's and that the series was subsequently dubbed in Finnish by Golden Voice	2 years, 4 months	July 8, 2015	November 1, 2017	added, removed
Fictitious Illyrian gods	2 years, 3½ months	October 27, 2005	February 18, 2008	Old revision of Paleo-Balkanic mythology showing fictitious gods, discussion
Characterisation of Shane (name) signifying a violent individual	2 years, 3½ months	December 21, 2007	April 12, 2010	added, deleted, believed by [60] and [61]
Just When I Needed You Most Cover version by "Daniel Selby"	2 years, ½ month	January 22, 2011	January 31, 2013	added, removed Reference to Selby also added on songwriter Randy VanWarmer's page (removed)
PC Card Claimed to be invented by "Jacob D. Holm" in 1986. In reality, the PCMCIA organization was formed in 1989-09, based on the initiative of Poqet Computer Corporation's Ian Cullimore with support from Fujitsu and Intel since 1989-07.	2 years, ½ month	August 18, 2011	August 30, 2013	added, removed
Stephen Gostkowski Claim that "Benjamin Skiest" was a high school football opponent of Stephen Gostkowski and became a running back for the Atlanta Falcons.	1 year, 11 months	November 1, 2018	September 27, 2020	added, removed
Let Me Be There and If You Love Me (Let Me Know) For nearly two years, both articles credited a "Navin Harris" as the backing vocalist instead of Mike Sammes.	1 year, 9½ months	June 17, 2010	April 2, 2012 (both articles)	Appears in this article and this publication of Olivia Newton-John related Wikipedia articles Content was repeatedly re-added by an IP-hopper after first removal in April 2012, even after the addition of a source verifying the real vocalist's name, leading to indefinite semi-protection of both articles; see also Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/IncidentArchive747#Repeated vandalism for a likely source of the name.
United States Secretary of Education hoax Three fake secretaries were added to the list and remained unnoticed for nearly two years.	1 year, 9 months	March 20, 2019	January 1, 2021 (first one removed); January 7, 2021 (other two removed)	added, one removed, other two removed
Lustfaust hoax The real band Lustfaust, which the article is now about, used this fake band as a marketing tactic	1 year, 9 months	October 15, 2005	July 14, 2007	Old revision of article about fake band, NYT article describing fake article
Involvement of Brian Reddyb in the band Rednex	1 year, 8½ months	October 17, 2005	July 3, 2007	added, removed; User:Brian Reddyb vocally defended his hoax edits until he was banned, and Rednex personally denounced his story. Brian made a similar hoax edit to Saddam Hussein.
Palladium claim under 'Applications' that palladium is used in the production of the fictional substance Thiotimoline	1 year, 2 months	February 22, 2011	April 19, 2012
Traffic cones called "kafele boothe cones"	1 year, 7½ months	October 4, 2010	May 24, 2012	[62] [63] Returned from July 28, 2012 to December 18, 2012, again on March 25, 2013, June 7, 2013 to June 14, 2013, and June 21, 2013 to July 12, 2013
"Conrad Dean" as backing vocalist on Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy	1 year, 6 months	March 29, 2012	September 25, 2013
Dexter, New York and Dexter, Maine On two distinct occasions, it was falsely claimed the town was named after "Dexter Borup". The IP that made the first edit also added the name uncapitalized to Dexter, Maine.	11 months	February 23, 2007	January 17, 2008	first time: added, removed; second time: added, removed. Was picked up by other resources on the town. Maine: [64],[65]
	1 year, 6 months	February 1, 2009	July 30, 2010
	11 months	February 27, 2007	February 23, 2008
Fake material in Tristan Sir Tristan as an "overweight knight"	1 year, 5½ months	September 2, 2004	February 20, 2006	Added, removed
Arthur Foot being Michael Foot′s brother.	1 year, 5 months	November 14, 2013	April 21, 2015	Added, removed/names of actual brothers and a nephew added
Addition of three trees to Man-eating tree, one of which (Duñak) is completely fabricated Inspired several pieces of artwork and literature, including a novel.	1 year, 3 months	October 26, 2008	February 2, 2010	added, removed. Believed by The Epoch Times (May 5, 2009)
Fictitious sons of Aaron Nada and Abidjan	1 year, 1½ months	March 16, 2008	April 26, 2009	Added
Gérard Louis-Dreyfus Fictitious children named "Rover and Bethlehem". (revision)	1 year	March 9, 2009	March 24, 2010

Extant for less than one year

This section lists hoaxes covered for less than one year. See Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Less than one year for the full list. This section should list only hoaxes covered in independent third-party sources. Short-lived hoaxes are innumerable and so we do not normally track them — they can be found by searching deletion logs for "hoax".

Claim	Length	Insertion date	Removal date	Links
Ronnie Hazlehurst Erroneous information (alleging that he had co-written a pop hit for band S Club 7) inserted into this article led to several news outlets repeating it in his obituary following his death, which in turn led to verifiable citations. The incident was widely reported in the UK meta-media, in particular by Private Eye and Have I Got News for You (the latter featuring the editor of the former as a regular panellist.)	11 days	September 20, 2007	October 1, 2007	The incorrect information talk page discussing the issue
John F. Street Vandalism from IP editor inserting false information about how the Philadelphia mayor had formerly worked as Bozo the Clown.	5 days	January 14, 2007	January 19, 2007	The incorrect information. Other IPs restore the vandalism [66][67] but it is quickly reverted. Talk page discussing the issue. Article about the hoax in the Philadelphia Inquirer(dead link). A couple of months later, an IP editor added information about the hoax to the biography.[68] Over the next few years this material was variously kept as reliably sourced, or deleted as trivial.
Falsified quotes by Maurice Jarre Went viral in mainstream media after his death	24 hours	March 30, 2009	March 31, 2009	added Discussion at Irish Times
Roger Vinson Addition that the individual was an amateur taxidermist who mounted bear heads above the door of his courtroom. The hoax information became known when Rush Limbaugh misused it on his radio program.	1 day	September 13, 2010	September 14, 2010	Huffington Post New York Times Wall Street Journal Pensacola News Journal
Wrightbus A hoax edit alleged that the company was being sold; the quickly-deleted hoax nonetheless caused alarm at its headquarters in Northern Ireland, prompting a report from the Belfast Telegraph.	47 minutes	November 26, 2015	November 26, 2015	First part added, second part added, removed
MESSENGER (NASA probe) Destination of interplanetary probe changed from Mercury (planet) to Canada.	5 minutes	January 17, 2008	January 17, 2008	Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into Canada, ISBN 9781607101000 page 272, inexplicably devotes two-thirds of a printed page to this short-lived bit of vandalism, explaining in detail how MESSENGER was the first mission to visit Canada in over 30 years, studying its environment and characteristics from orbit.

See also

• User:JohnCD/Hoaxes#Deleted at AfD, a list of confirmed hoaxes that are not included on this page
• List of hoaxes, articles which factually describe encyclopedically notable hoaxes
• Wikipedia:List of citogenesis incidents
• List of Wikipedia controversies
• Reliability of Wikipedia
• Category:Wikipedia suspected hoax articles
• Category:AfC submissions declined as jokes
• Wikipedia:Society for the Preservation of the Quazer Beast
• Fictitious entry
• "How many more hoaxes will Wikipedia find?", The Signpost
• Wikipedia:Wikipedia records

Further reading

• "Revenge, Ego and the Corruption of Wikipedia", an article that describes several hoaxes which are not listed on this page
• "After a half-decade, massive Wikipedia hoax finally exposed" at dailydot.com