Can you spot the 'real' fake news story? – quiz

In the news in 2016 – possibly: Jeb Bush, Marijuana and an orangutan. Composite: Getty Images

This was the year of fake news duping people. Did it dupe you? Are you dupable, you dupe? Take the test with this selection of real fake headlines that confused people on Facebook and fake fake headlines that we’ve just made up.

1. Which is the real fake Trump story?

   1. Donald Trump Announces He Will Make Singing National Anthem At Start Of Work Compulsory For All Government Employees

   2. Man Prohibited From Buying US Flag Because Store Owner Suspected He Would Burn It

   3. Trump Buys Bald Eagle For Oval Office

   4. Obama Signs Executive Order Banning National Anthem At All Sporting Events

2. Which of these would you have to be high to be fooled by?

   1. Marijuana To Be Allowed At Work For California’s Air Traffic Controllers Provided It Is Below Legal Limit.

   2. Uber’s New Driverless Cars in San Francisco Crashing Because Of In-Car Pot Smoking By Passengers.

   3. Drugs In Colorado: Deadly New Strain Of Marijuana Turning Users Gay

   4. Heroin Users Claim Marijuana Legalisation Is Discrimination; Taking Case To Supreme Court

3. 

   Can you spot the fake story that played a role in the Republican primaries?

   1. Ben Carson Inaugurates 80-Year Monkey ­Breeding ­Programme In Hopes Of ­Disproving Evolution

   2. Floundering Jeb Bush ­Campaign Spends $50,000 On Creating A Perfect Working ­Animatronic Version Of Jeb No Bigger Than A Grain Of Rice

   3. Ted Cruz Will Endorse Donald Trump For President If He Makes Masturbation Illegal

   4. RNC Hacks: New Emails Reveal John McCain And Mitt Romney Were Working For Obama All Along

4. Which of these religious freedom stories is the genuine whopper?

   1. Target To Offer Free Holy Qur'an To Shoppers To Promote Religious Understanding

   2. Target To Discontinue Sales Of Holy Bible

   3. First Piece Of Archeological Evidence Emerges In Utah Proving Truth Of Book Of Mormon

   4. Pope Francis Says No To Women Priests Because They Would ‘Fall In Love And Cry When Criticised’

5. 

   Which of these conspiracy-laced fake headlines caused a genuine stir?

   1. Julian Assange Goes Missing; Government Now In Control Of wikileaks.com

   2. Edward Snowden’s Email Hack Reveals Sexts Sent To Julian Assange

   3. CIA Claims Putin Had “Decisive” Influence On UK’s Richmond By-Election

   4. The Tapes They’ll Never Let You See: James Corden Hits Elderly Woman During Solange Knowles’ Carpool Karaoke.

6. Which of these lies really spread?

   1. Alt.Right Leader Wins Right To Donate Blood On Condition It Isn’t Given To Black People

   2. Donald Trump hires Clueless star Stacey Dash to lead his Black Outreach Program

   3. Trump To Grant Presidential Pardon To Dylann Roof

   4. Police Officer Excused From Patrolling Black Neighbourhoods Because Doctor Diagnosed Him With ‘Compulsive Racism Disorder’

7. 

   Whose last words were really falsely reported?

   1. Nancy Reagan’s Dying Words: “Don’t Vote For Trump”

   2. David Bowie’s Final Words? “I’m Sorry For Tin Machine”

   3. Bodyguard Recalls How Last Thing Prince Said Was “Does This Outfit Look A Bit Fruity To You?”

   4. Muhammad Ali’s Home To Be Turned Into Brothel By Developers

8. Which of these stories about fake news is the real fake news?

   1. Man Who Re-Tweeted Hoax Story Jailed For 10 Years In Maine Under Controversial New Law

   2. The Hoax News Kingpin: Macedonian Teenager’s Company Now Worth More Than Washington Post and USA Today combined

   3. Amazing: NYC Cops Trace 90% Of Nation’s Twitter Trolls To Massive Centralised HQ Located under bridge

   4. Facebook Tests Warning Labels For Fake News

Solutions

1:D - In the midst of a febrile election campaign, fake news publishers returned to a hoary old favourite, 2:C - The legitimate sounding newsexaminer.net published this story a few years after the state of Colorado legalised weed. (It does make you listen to too much Cypress Hill.) , 3:C - In the end, he did it for much less than this., 4:B - This one came from noted fake news site the National Report , 5:A - Fans of Assange were panicked by a series of strange tweets by Wikileaks. He later assured them he was fine, 6:B - Dash did endorse Trump, but hasn’t yet been given a role in his administration , 7:A - Another one from National Report. Reagan’s actual last words were “Go White Sox!” , 8:D - Abandon hope, all ye who turn on the internet

Scores

1. 9 and above.

   Well done!

2. 7 and above.

   Congratulations! You can spot a genuine fake story a mile off. No one will believe you

3. 4 and above.

   Not bad. You spotted some of the real fake news stories and some of the fake fake news. Consider yourself semi-fake-informed.

4. 0 and above.

   You can’t spot an obviously fake story. Why not go and share it on Facebook anyhow?