2016: The year that was not

Money matters
Adding to the chaos of demonetisation were reports that the new Rs 2,000 notes have nanochips installed in them. And if notes in suspicious amounts were stored at one place, it could be detected by satellites and such places will be raided by I-T authorities and their ilk. Interesting! But alas, all turned out to be fake as when the RBI made information about the new currency public, it was clarified that no such technology has been roped in. Much to the relief of black money horders, indeed.

Bucket List
There was hardly any eye left dry when the news of a former Army Ranger and professionally trained Santa Claus said a recent visit with a terminally ill child left him an emotional wreck for days. A day later, it was established that the source of the news couldn’t be verified.

Osama Bin Laden alive?
In May, it was reported that Edward Snowden (the NSA whistleblower) has made another astonishing revelation. He apparently has documents that prove Osama Bin Laden is on the CIA’s payroll and currently living a luxury lifestyle in the Bahamas, the report added. However, much to the relief of all, nothing of this sort existed.

Jayalalithaa’s ‘daughter’
First the rumour-mongering and then the fake news. A photograph of a young woman did the rounds on social media. People claimed it was the photograph of Jayalalithaa’s daughter.  

While no one seems to cross-check the facts, popular singer and TV show host Chinmayi Sripada posted the truth on Facebook, recently, in an attempt to put an end to the rumours.

She clarifies that the person seen in the photo belongs to a respected family of musicians, and requests netizens to stop sharing the “ridiculous” story that is being “created by someone with an unstable mind.

ISIS threat to WhatsApp pics
A WhatsApp forward, warned women not to put up their pictures as WhatsApp profile pictures for security reasons. The message stated that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had access to such details and could steal their virtual identity. It for sure created quite a scare among all.

Brexit bluff
In 2015, the UK’s full membership fee would have been £17.8 billion. However, Britain doesn’t pay that full fee. Because of a deal negotiated by Margaret Thatcher in 1984, Britain gets a “rebate”, an annual reduction in contributions. £12.9 billion is around £35 million a day. That’s less than the £55 million-a-day figure that a lot of people campaigning for the leave the EU cite.
However, it later turned out that the figures were fake as they were largely contested.

The fake N-threat from Pakistan
Pakistan’s defence minister has threatened Israel that his country could use nuclear weapons, after a fake news report stated that his Israeli counterpart had threatened “nuclear retaliation” for Islamabad’s role in Syria against the ISIS. A report in the New York Times said a fake news story prompted Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to threaten to go nuclear.