Introduction

Toddler Hoaxes comprise Osama bin Laden and the Apollo Program. A step below Kiddy Hoaxes, but a step above Baby Hoaxes, the Toddler Hoaxes share some similarities with both, and serve as a bridge between the two. Like Baby Hoaxes, the Toddler Hoaxes are primarily media-driven. This was true at the time of their respective premiers, and has remained the case throughout their run. Like Kiddy Hoaxes, the Toddler Hoaxes are discrete, major events/stories; and they act as foundations to the greater Hoaxes on which they are built.

Conspicuously, the prominent YouTube ‘truthers’ who routinely cover the Baby Hoaxes generally pay little attention to the Toddler Hoaxes – some even deny the Toddler Hoaxes altogether. It may be argued that this is because exposure to (and a proper understanding of) the Toddler Hoaxes will naturally lead truth n00bs to investigation of the Kiddy Hoaxes. In this sense, the Toddler Hoaxes serve as a litmus test of would-be truth-tellers on YouTube: if a party seems wise to media fakery, but oblivious or indifferent to bin Laden and/or Apollo fakery, it can be inferred that said party is at best a poor researcher – or worse…