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What's the most severe example of a fake version of a book you've ever seen? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

When a book becomes influential enough, someone might try to impersonate it, since publishing doesn't follow any hard rules.

For example, I was explaining to someone that, after (surprisingly not before) I got a job at my local library, I took out a communist manifesto, which I later learned was a fake, with writings in there that were not consistent with the official communist manifesto, such as a call for free love.

I have also spotted a lot of fake versions of Mark Twain books come in, which has a lot of parts deleted or inserted based on the writer's desire.

On the other side of the issue, lately I've been watching a lot of the events unfold in the middle East and have wondered why nobody just ends violence over there for good by making fake Qurans. One or two people have hinted they've tried, with some altered movements centered around it (would you call this government gnosticism), but it's not something you always hear.

What's the most severe example of a fake version of a book you've ever seen/encountered?

all 14 comments

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Not what you had in mind when you said 'fake', but how about an AI-generated mushroom identification book that landed people in hospital for eating poisonous stuff the book said was safe

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

On the other side of the issue, lately I’ve been watching a lot of the events unfold in the middle East and have wondered why nobody just ends violence over there for good by making fake Qurans.

Zeroth of all,

that is not why there is violence in West Asia.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Fake Qurans are hard to fool anyone with because plenty of people (me included, an atheist) memorized bits of it verbatim. People can easily cross reference anything with the thousands of online websites that offer digital Quran copies. Many have tried, and many times it eas accidental typos that urged authorities to draw back and destroy many copies with "errors". There is also this one wacko cult leader obsessed with numerology and the number 19 who republished the Quran with some added verses. It was not taken lightly.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Yup. This spark of brilliance was ignorant on multiple levels, and racist. It sounds like New Atheism garbage. I almost deleted the post.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 hours ago

I don't get it... you mean what OP write sounds like new atheism garbage? It could just be someone genuinely asking though, right?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Long ago, pre-internet I read this sci-fi book "Star Chase" by Brian Royal that I found at the library. (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1520203)

I later looked it up and found out it was a blatant plagiarism of "Escape Across The Cosmos" by Gardner F Fox.
(https://bookwyrm.social/book/1370737/s/escape-across-the-cosmos)

Even the authors name was faked!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Not the same but similar. Tried to rent some stupid comedy dvd from blockbuster back in the day, but got hotel Rwanda when I opened it up…

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago

To be fair, that is a pretty funny prank.

"Oh, you wanted comedy? Here, have this harrowing tale about genocide and the great depths of human suffering instead!"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Anecdotal: I've read accounts of fake 40K books that contain 1d4chan memery.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

50 Shades of Gray is basically this, but it takes this idea to 11 for a joke.