Throughout 2025, misinformation spread rapidly across digital platforms, affecting health, consumer products, and technology. This recap documents the year’s most significant viral falsehoods, from fabricated celebrity news and AI-generated videos to misleading health claims and false product warnings. As content becomes more sophisticated, understanding and identifying misinformation has become essential for navigating our digital information landscape.
January
In early January 2025, shortly after the Korean series “Squid Game” Season 2’s release, social media posts went viral claiming that “Squid Game” was inspired by actual events, specifically, a 1986 incident in South Korea where hostages were allegedly forced to participate in deadly games. However, we found the claim is false. While the series draws inspiration from real social issues like inequality, competition, and desperation, the plot is entirely fictional and emerged from director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s creative vision. Moreover, the viral images purporting to show “real-life Squid Game locations” were created using AI.
During the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, a viral image circulated showing a lone house standing unburned amid the surrounding destruction. The image was shared with claims that it captured the aftermath of these wildfires. However, the image was actually generated by Google AI and does not depict a real event.
Later in January, as TikTok faced a potential ban over U.S. national security concerns...
Popular YouTuber and Twitch streamer Asmongold has strongly denied viral allegations calling him a pedophile after a misleading post spread rapidly on X (formerly Twitter). The streamer has now sa...