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Did you know that you can say practically anything you want online? Unfortunately, some people do exactly that. Fortunately for us, they are pretty bad liars, so when we see through their obviously farcical stories, the results can be hilarious and cringeworthy. That’s exactly the type of cringe post that Totally True Story on Instagram collects.

Some people may be trying to boost their egos by fishing for likes and compliments online. Others may be trying to get ahead or even scam readers by weaving elaborate tales.

Common sense is a useful sense to hone, especially when you spend time online. These funny little fabrications tend to be about as harmless as it gets. Your common sense can also help you see through dangerous scams, fake news campaigns, and other trickery that runs rampant in the Wild West of the Web.

To play the devil’s advocate, it could also be (however unlikely) that some of these stories are, in fact, true. Are there any where you think the internet got it wrong? Let us know in the comments below each pic!

#2

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Violet1854
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Could happen. Our classes had smartboards and Wifi, and sometimes when we were tired, the teachers would stop teaching for the rest of the period and let us play a song or see a funny video on the screen though not the dancing part. Might happen if your teacher is crazy enough

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Do you think these stories are nonsense or do you think they might be true? This post is a great opportunity to hone your common sense and "BS radar" to see whether you can see through sketchy online stories. But do you think that being online makes people lie more or less?

On the one hand, anonymity and distance may provide cover for people to feel like they can get away with more. On the other, the potential for your message to be seen by hundreds or even millions means you're much more likely to be held accountable. It turns out that that's exactly what the experts say - it depends.

#4

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pupsmuggler , wailtothethief Report

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Amelia Schroeder
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How f*****g ripped must op be. Each of her individual muscles must be bigger than my head (if she was real ofc)

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Yeet_girl360
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1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Honestly, believable. My sister worked at a fast food place, and this guy rolled up with a condom on his head and wouldn't accept his food till he was called daddy. Ya'll they were 16- 20 years, he had to have been 60. They banned his card so he couldn't order again.

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Much like with real-world relationships, our willingness to lie depends greatly on our environment and our relationship with the people we're talking to. "We find that communication in the inside world tends to be more honest online, and this is in part because those messages are recorded and come from people that we will have future interactions with. We don’t want a reputation as a liar, and it’s easier in some ways to get caught in a lie online (just ask any politician caught in a scandal in the last decade)," Jeff Hancock, a professor of communication, told Stanford magazine.

So why is it that we sometimes feel like it's easier to tell fibs on the internet? Well, for one, there's the fake news we can sometimes be bombarded with, which will shake our trust in the information we see online. But how about when we read something from individuals instead of news sources?

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Hancock explained when people might be more likely to lie online: "Communication from the outside world, however, is from sources that we’re unlikely to engage with again, and so there are little to no reputation costs for people to lie online. These lies include sock puppets [false identities], follower factories, purchased likes, propaganda bots and fake news. So, the degree to which we can trust messages online is really the degree to which you know the source."


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Piper
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There is a conflict here and she would not be able to represent the wife without the husband agreeing.

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#12

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younger-than-the-soul , a-fragile-sort-of-anarchy: Report

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General Anaesthesia
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What happened to the days when you started by trading a thumb tack for an elastic band and kept trading all the way up to a house with a swimming pool?

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#13

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Dodo
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Plausible. Teacher has had time to hone his icebreaker.

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#14

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totallytruestory , heatherleigh02 Report

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Loveyiii
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would like to thank you for not referring to the baby boomer as "Karen". That is my given name and cringe every time I see a video or read a story naming the jerk of the story "Karen". Kudos for tipping the teen, I am sure it made their day and in turn ruining it for the bully boomer.

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#15

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rogha , youtube-feels Report

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MissMePhoenix
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I can actually believe this...after some of the things my son has gotten into trouble for saying at school....

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However, it all comes back to the motivations guiding the person behind the screen. Use your common sense - if it's too good to be true, it probably is. It is then quite likely that someone's trying to pull a fast one over you or, at the very least, boost their own ego.

Hancock explains: "It’s easy to forget, but (most) people lie for a reason, and simply because a person is using a phone or a computer or a tablet to communicate doesn’t make them more or less likely to lie. Instead, it’s all about goals and motivations."

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#16

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Freeasabird
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a teacher that said, the war of independence was won by the British, on account they were fighting themselves (forgone conclusion) and they were only American after the fight was finished. The joke roll continued until the end of the lesson 😂

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Cat Chat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But the money saved there goes to ER bills. We were on a hike with Mom and blind step-Dad. There was a tree branch sticking out that slanted up close to a 90°angle. Mom was under the higher side. Not needing to duck for herself, she was so distracted by the scenery she didn't think to move over or have him duck. Whack, dead center into the branch. It does give us a good laugh now, though (wasn't seriously hurt, thank goodness).

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#24

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jackcutieye , actionables Report

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SadieCat17
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel like this is only unrealistic to introverts lmao. This is relatively normal extrovert behavior, at least to me. I would totally flirt with someone by asking them to teach me how to make pancakes.

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Emma S
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately, I can believe these ones. There are some abusive, delusional, control freak mother's out there that will do and say terrible things to their own children. I sadly know from personal experience.

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kansasmagic
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's okay, though, because Anonymous is obviously a serial killer and uses the dog to lure unsuspecting young men into her suburban home of death. True story.

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#30

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his-forever-girl , narutowiener Report

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Xenon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A soldier got charged for it for getting a severe sunburn. Urban legend amongst soldiers I imagine.

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#31

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bread lord
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this happened I was the security guard 💯💯 edit: omg this comment blew up I'm crying laughing at the replies

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#32

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Yeet_girl360
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Speaking of being allergic to things... Just two weeks ago I found out I'm allergic to ants(just like my mom). I looked like a fricking balloon. It took two days for the swelling to go down and I was still left with the itchy bug bite. Yuck. It is literally the only thing I know that I'm allergic to.

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#34

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seventh-fantasy , interstellarsentience Report

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Arunika R.
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This could be true too. I've read a lot of fanfiction and some of them are my emotional support stories I go back to every once in a while

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UselessKnowledgeFont
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I need to look this up. Was it all of the Caribbean or "just" Puerto Rico? Also given PR's government corruption and who was president of USA, I don't doubt that quite a bit is still not fixed

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UncleRussian
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The most unbelievable part about this story is the beginning. You see, I work in a car parts, repair and service store and I know for a fact that not all batteries are the same. If I had to guess a tractor battery is pretty big and beefy and it would certainly not fit into most cars, but what's even worse is that it probably doesn't even have the right voltage! All car batteries are different, you put one in that is too low or too high in voltage, that'll f**k up your car

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Ty Stratton-Quirk
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Hello, and welcome to Standing Up school...I have failed all of you as an educator."

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#38

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mew-loves-you , radioirwin Report

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Ben
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah Nerf darts don't leave bruises. That is the whole point of Nerf.

Colin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They have a hard rubber tip to add weight. My TV has a nice line running down it from my kids shooting it with a nerf gun.

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#43

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screaminteen , vanehwasreal Report

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Adam Zad
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You could miss an exit in Alaska and still stay in the same state for three days. If they cut Alaska in half, Texas would be the THIRD-biggest state.

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SadieCat17
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Um a 13 year old acting like a decent human being? Fake news. (Meant to add /s, know some lovely children myself)

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#47

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blogginsshirebound , inabasket Report

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B.Nelson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is possible. My sister had conversations with people when she was asleep. She once stated that she got me a pink flamingo umbrella for Christmas.

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David Martin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And then the old lady was attacked by members of a rising third gang and went into the hospital in a coma, and the two heads of the existing rival gangs put their differences aside to team up "For Grandma!" and took down the new gang. Then they realized they were actually the same all along, and the gang wars stopped, and the old lady woke up. And the credits start to roll over a freeze frame of the former gang leaders hugging it out because this sounds suspiciously like the first half of a movie from the 80s

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#51

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bangaarang , mamayuuma: Report

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digitalin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I know that that's a joke and all, but fun fact: a lot of people in the US do prefer Coke made in Mexico because the formula is different -- it's made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup or something. It comes in glass bottles and says "Hecho en Mexico" and sometimes it's hard to find.

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Nizumi
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Give him a break - he's only college humor, not post-graduate humor.

#55

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Where's_My_Adderall
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

as a Slytherin, I call bull. it would be a backhanded compliment, or something snarky.

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Samyan Elrod
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Come on guys, pls leave some customary witty comments on this one. I feel so alone.

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#57

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Arunika R.
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What kind of school you all went to? My art teacher simply gave a premade painting for us to recreate

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digitalin
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This totally could have happened. I had labor contractions for 48 hours and during that first day my doula made me walk around the block and get coffee. My water hadn't broken yet, though. It's not always like the movies. And sometimes they don't let you eat at the hospital, so stopping for pancakes makes sense.

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Max Fox
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Most colleges have a minimum number of credits that a student has to take in all core subjects for a student to be accepted. In the past, requirements were lower, and many students started college without finishing high school. My father did that, but that was in the 1950s.

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Mimi777
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember an a*****e teacher in middle school who would make b****y and rude comments to the girls. Boldly tell them they could lose a few pounds or that they looked like a clown with so much makeup on.

#67

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Xenon
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have no idea what mcr is or why this is supposed to be funny.

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Debby Keir
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was *so* proud, but my senility means I can't remember what she said either.

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