History Main / DocumentaryOfLies

-->-- '''Creator/LeonardNimoy''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

Frequent topics of this sort of program include psychics, [=UFOs=] and {{alien abduction}}s, UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories, claims that history as we know it was WrittenByTheWinners, ghosts and other supernatural entities, and [[FauxSymbolism objects with alleged religious significance]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman "Homer Badman"]], Homer is accused of inappropriately groping a young female babysitter, when in fact he was just pulling a gummy Venus de Milo off her bum (she had sat on it). He gives an interview to ''Rock Bottom'' (an {{expy}} of the '90s [[IfItBleedsItLeads tabloid news program]] ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Copy Hard Copy]]''), which they then air heavily edited to make it seem as though Homer admits guilt and then attacks the journalist in question (who is clearly outside while Homer is inside). It ends with the disclaimer "Dramatization! May not have happened." At the end they issue a retraction, along with a comically {{long list}} of things they lied about besides this.

Not to be confused with the DocumentaryEpisode, the FauxDocumentary, the {{Mockumentary}}, or the FauxToGuide. See also TwistingTheWords, which is this trope applied to subjects who were telling the truth in the ''first place''. If the news takes it utterly seriously, MediaScaremongering. DanBrowned is the related trope for a work of literature that claims to be based on facts and research but is in fact a near-complete work of fiction.

* In ''Sharp Ends'', set in the ''Literature/FirstLaw'' universe, we get "Freedom," a shamelessly romanticized depiction of Nicomo Cosca, infamous soldier of fortune written by hack author Spillion Sworbreck. The drunken opportunity with a ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Cosca and his ArmyOfThievesAndWhores are depicted as cartoonishly principled and heroic, when the reader knows it's quite the opposite. In the end, Sworbreck's editor has written a note demanding rewrites to make the story even more fanciful.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman "Homer Badman"]], Homer is accused of inappropriately groping a young female babysitter, when in fact he was just pulling a gummy Venus de Milo off her bum (she had sat on it). He gives an interview to ''Rock Bottom'' (an {{expy}} of the '90s [[IfItBleedsItLeads tabloid news program]] ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Copy Hard Copy]]''), which they then air heavily edited to make it seem as though Homer admits guilt and then attacks the journalist in question (who is clearly outside while Homer is inside). It ends with the disclaimer "Dramatization may not have happened." At the end they issue a retraction, along with a comically {{long list}} of things they lied about besides this.

Not to be confused with the DocumentaryEpisode, the FauxDocumentary, the {{Mockumentary}}, or the FauxToGuide. See also TwistingTheWords, which is this trope applied to subjects who were telling the truth in the ''first place''. If the news takes it utterly seriously, YouCanPanicNow. DanBrowned is the related trope for a work of literature that claims to be based on facts and research but is in fact a near-complete work of fiction.

* ''Luke's Change'', a parody of ''Loose Change'' listed above, presents a compelling case that the [[Film/StarWarsANewHope destruction of the first Death Star]] was an inside job set up by the Skywalker family. This was made before ''Film/RogueOne'', which involved someone sabotaging the project from within.

Sometimes, though, a documentary filmmaker just doesn't care, and any attempt at accuracy or finding the truth goes out the window, but the result is still presented as non-fiction, oftentimes with [[QuoteMine quote-mining]] and ManipulativeEditing. When this happens, you usually end up with a Documentary of Lies. For a succinct demonstration of just how truth is commonly manipulated check out [[http://vimeo.com/61930750 Luke's Change: An Inside Job]] a [[{{Mockumentary}} satirical take]] on Franchise/StarWars in the style of ''WebVideo/LooseChange'' that uses pretty much every common technique found in this trope.

Frequent topics of this sort of program include psychics, [=UFOs=] and {{alien abduction}}s, UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheories, ghosts and other supernatural entities, and [[FauxSymbolism objects with alleged religious significance]].

Sometimes, though, a documentary filmmaker just doesn't care, and any attempt at accuracy or finding the truth goes out the window, but the result is still presented as non-fiction, oftentimes with [[QuoteMine quote-mining]] and ManipulativeEditing. When this happens, you usually end up with a Documentary of Lies. For a succinct demonstration of just how truth is commonly manipulated check out [[http://vimeo.com/61930750 Luke's Change: An Inside Job]] a [[{{Mockumentary}} satirical take]] on StarWars in the style of ''WebVideo/LooseChange'' that uses pretty much every common technique found in this trope.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbsLTAO7Ra8 Fellowship 9/11]]'', a parody of Creator/{{Michael Moore}}'s ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' via Franchise/{{The Lord of the Rings}}. Did you know that the Battle of Helms Deep was a false flag operation to allow the Fellowship Group to invade peaceful, oil-rich Mordor? Michael Moore and Senator Grima Wormtongue (D, Rohan) explain it all.

!!InUniverseExamplesOnly:

* In ''Series/{{Unreal}}'' Coleman is introduced in season 2 as an award-winning documentary filmmaker who's hired as the new producer of ''Everlasting.'' He spends much of his time railing on how horrible and manipulative reality TV is and ends up wanting to destroy the series totally. Rachel fights against him and works with Quinn to force Coleman out. When Coleman threatens to use information about the show's dark methods, Rachel counters by revealing what Coleman's ex-girlfriend had told her: Coleman had hired downtrodden extras to pose as "the sex slaves" in his "documentary," meaning Coleman is as much a fake as Quinn and Rachel are.

Frequent topics of this sort of program include psychics, [=UFOs=] and {{alien abduction}}s, [[ConspiracyTheory conspiracy theories]], ghosts and other supernatural entities, and [[FauxSymbolism objects with alleged religious significance]].

* In the ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman "Homer Badman"]], Homer is accused of inappropriately groping a young female babysitter, when in fact he was just pulling a gummy Venus de Milo off her bum (she had sat on it). He gives an interview to ''Rock Bottom'' (an {{expy}} of the '90s [[IfItBleedsItLeads tabloid news program]] ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Copy Hard Copy]]''), which they then air heavily edited to make it seem as though Homer admits guilt and then attacks the journalist in question (who is clearly outside while Homer is inside). It ends with the disclaimer "Dramatization may not have happened." At the end they issue a retraction, along with a comically {{long list}} of things they lied about besides this.

This is not a {{Mockumentary}}, which is explicitly a scripted fictitious film (usually comedy or horror) done in the style of a documentary. In order to be guilty of being a Documentary of Lies, a documentary has to claim that something is actually true when ''any reasonable investigation'' would show otherwise. The filmmakers were either negligent, [[BlatantLies outright liars]], or just plain ''[[MadnessTropes crazy]]''. DontShootTheMessage becomes a common result.

This is not a {{Mockumentary}}, which makes no secret of the fact that it was made up. In order to be guilty of being a Documentary of Lies, a documentary has to claim that something is actually true when ''any reasonable investigation'' should show otherwise. The filmmakers were either negligent, [[BlatantLies outright liars]], or just plain ''[[MadnessTropes crazy]]''. DontShootTheMessage becomes a common result.

* Maddox of TheBestPageInTheUniverse fame created the Website/YouTube vid ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHs6J0OXVI Unfastened Coins: The Titanic Conspiracy]]'', which parodies this trope and the 9-11 conspiracy film Loose Change for all it's worth (including parodies of "undeniable verification tests" done with a model of the Titanic in the author's bathtub).

** Spanish TV broadcaster La Sexta developed a similar idea, based on the February 23rd 1981 coup d'etat. It puts Pedro Almodóvar as the supposed director of the coup, which would have been concieved to secure democracy in Spain and increase the King's popularity.

* ''Luke's Change'', a parody of ''Loose Change'' listed above, presents a compelling case that the [[Film/StarWarsANewHope destruction of the first Death Star]] was an inside job set up by the Skywalker family.

* Played for laughs on ''Series/{{House}}'' as House is followed by a documentary crew for a day. He naturally berates them for being horrible and presenting false stories and gives them the treatment of him berating his staff and patients alike and showcasing what a terrible person House is. When the documentary is shown, House is outraged (and Cuddy moved to laughter) to see that the filmmakers have fixed it so House is shown as a kind-hearted man who truly cares for all his patients, treats his staff with the utmost respect and openly talks about being moved to become a doctor by the movie ''Patch Adams.''