A web hoaxSourced
A fictional toaster inventor
reached a banknote list.
Students invented the toaster pioneer Alan MacMasters in a Wikipedia hoax. The false story spread so far that the name entered an eligible list of £50-note nominees before the fabrication was exposed in 2022.
A made-up biography
reached a real shortlist.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
Source and reuse details
Alan MacMasters hoax · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01