The Alan MacMasters Hoax: a group of students edited the Wikipedia page about electric toasters to include the false claim that Alan MacMasters invented it in 1893.
Wait, it gets better.
Later, one of the friends created a separate profile for Alan with a doctored image of himself, made to look like it was from the 19th century.
Now the good stuff.
Newspapers, government offices, and museums perpetuated the story that Alan MacMasters invented the toaster. Eventually MacMasters was nominated to appear on the £50 note.