Yuri gadyukin wikipedia hoax nitrate film never existed at all – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Wikipedia and the dead Russian film director who never lived at all

Yuri Gadyukin newspaper 640
Yuri Gadyukin newspaper 640
Yuri Gadyukin newspaper 640
Sean Hollister
is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.

On March 5th, a Wikipedia contributor foiled an incredible hoax. Two British filmmakers had invented a Russian film director, painstakingly crafting evidence of his existence, his genius, and his murder over 50 years ago, in order to promote an upcoming documentary about piecing together the man’s final film.

“Imagine a documentary about events you’ve never heard of-that no one’s ever heard of-but that are meticulously chronicled in online sources many people trust implicitly. Imagine the confusion. Imagine the buzz. Imagine the publicity,” writes the Daily Dot. Read about the incredible plan to make “Yuri Gadyukin” famous at our source link below.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.