2018 saw its fair share of hoax crimes. Fortunately, for those who were targeted, the truth is likely to come out. Take a look at some of the wild claims in 2018 that were later discovered to be hoaxes.
10. In January, it was discovered that a Muslim girl had lied to police in Toronto when she told them a man had “cut off” her hijab.
The hoax quickly gained the attention of Canadian media, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who told reporters that his “heart goes out the young girl who was attacked, seemingly for her religion.” Police concluded that the incident had never occurred.
9. A Long Island woman told detectives in September that four teenagers had confronted her, yelling “Trump 2016!” and that she woke up the next morning to find her tires slashed with a note that read, “Go home.”
The woman ended up being arrested and charged for fabricating the story about the Trump-related hate crime.
8. In July, a Texas waiter shared a photo of a customer’s receipt, which had the words “we don’t tip terrorist” scrawled at the top, along with the waiter’s name “Khalil” circled.
The photo gained national media attention, the waiter was offered donations, and the framed customer was banned from the restaurant. The waiter eventually admitted that he had written the words on the receipt, and that his story was made-up.
7. An Ohio University student told police that she had received homophobic death threats. The student ended up being charged with three counts of “making false alarms” after it was discovered by police that she had sent the death threats to herself.
6. A high school marching band in Georgia decided to display a racial slur during one of their performances. After conducting an investigation, the school’s principal announced that the incident was a hoax.
5. One day before the midterm elections, a black freshman at Kansas State tweeted an image of a racist note attached to his apartment door. In his tweet, the student stated that this “blatant racism” should serve as a reminder that “everyone needs to get out and vote.”
The tweet has since been deleted, and the student later admitted to police that he had created and posted the note to his own door.
4. A waitress at a restaurant in Texas wrote a racial slur against Hispanics on a receipt, claiming that a local law enforcement employee had written it and directed it toward her. The waitress later admitted to the County Sheriff that she herself had written the racist comment.
3. In November, several racist notes surfaced at Drake University, which spurred an investigation, protests, and campus-wide concern for nearly an entire month.
A student who had received one of the notes later admitted to being the one who sent the notes to herself and others. She ended up facing charges and possible expulsion.
2. Chipotle fired one of its managers in November, after a user on Twitter shared a video, accusing her of refusing to serve black customers due to the color of their skin.
It turned out that the manager had been a victim of a race hoax, and had refused the customers due to their known habit of “dining and dashing.” Chipotle has since offered the manager her job back.
1. During the October Kavanaugh hearings, a woman decided to insert herself into the elaborate and infamous watch trial, by writing a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, accusing Brett Kavanaugh of rape.
The woman later admitted that her letter was a hoax, and that she had never met Kavanaugh.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo and on Instagram.
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