December 14, 2007—Since 2004 this doctored image has helped give legs to tall tales of ancient giant humans. (Read full story.)

At least one version of the story—published in the March 2007 issue of India's Hindu Voice monthly and cited in countless blog entries and emails this year—claims that a National Geographic Society team helped make the "discovery" in India. (The National Geographic Society owns National Geographic News.)

The picture, however, is an innocent fake.

The image was lifted from Worth1000, a Web site that hosts contests for digital artists. Created by an artist using the alias IronKite, the picture placed third in a 2002 competition titled "Archaeological Anomalies 2," which asked contestants to “create a hoax archaeological discovery.”

“Man, this guy gets around!” said IronKite—who does not want his real name used in this story—after hearing his work had been used to back up the latest false reports.

• More Photos in the News
• Today's Top 15 Most Popular Stories
• Free Email Newsletter: "Focus on Photography"