Every now and then, we find ourselves watching or reading a dystopian or satirical film or book that we know is fiction, but can't help but feel isn't too far from our current reality.
Sometimes, however, we might read or watch something that seems completely outrageous, only to discover that it was based partly or entirely on actual events.
Indeed, there have been enough political scandals locally and abroad that we still can't quite a process wasn't a work of fiction.
Only to be reminded by the evening news that these seemingly absurd stories are very real, indeed.
Redditor No-Wolverine-2321 was eager to hear the most high-profile political scandals which seemed too ridiculous actually to have happened, leading them to ask:
"What political scandal was so absurd it seemed like fiction?"
"Oh, Canada indeed!"
"Toronto mayor caught smoking Crack and spiraling into political rants on camera."- Coded-influx
Nationalism Is A Universal Problem...
"First year living on a Caribbean island there was a debate on the parliament floor between a local politician and a European politician (the island still has colonial/financial ties)."
"The local politician said: 'You're not from here. I am from here, my wife is from here, my girlfriend is from here and my side piece is from here. F*** you, you're not from here" on the record'."
"Not the worst corruption nor biggest scandal but definitely one of the funniest scandals I've heard in my time there."- Strange-Task-8903
You Thought They Were Kidding...
"Not a scandal per se, but in 2022, the UK government basically imploded twice, and we had a Prime Minister that infamously lasted less than a supermarket lettuce."
"The lettuce has its own Wikipedia page."- Hayred
Life Imitating Art? Or Vice-Versa?
"Before he was a talk show host, Jerry Springer was the mayor of Cincinnati."
"He was caught soliciting a sex worker"
"How was he caught?"
"He paid her with a check."- da_choppa
Why It's Worth Erasing Your Search History...
"Tractorgate."
"A British MP was caught watching porn in the Commons, and claimed he was trying to find pictures of tractors."- bigbrother2030
Case Ih Agriculture GIF by Case IH BeneluxGiphy
Must Have Been Some Powerful Birthday Candles!
"Iceland's minister of finance was found in the Panama Papers and the Ashley Madison leak."
"The whole government dissolved, and a new election was planned."
"He made a campaign video where he decorated his kid's birthday cake."
"The country voted him in as Prime minister in the next election."
"This is just one of that guy's scandals."
"He just became Prime minister, AGAIN!"
"After he had to step down as minister of finance, AGAIN!"
"Because he sold a nationalized bank to his father at a 'family discount'."
"Instead of leaving like most people wanted he just traded places and made himself minister of foreign affairs."- rakkadimus
The Truth Has A Way Of Catching Up To You...
"South Carolina's republican Governor Mark Sanford went missing for 6 days, his press secretary said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail."
"He had a girlfriend in Argentina."- Swimming_Crazy_444
False Advertising Much?
"How about that time the major telecoms took over 400 BILLION dollars to install fiber optics in homes, schools and libraries across the entire country and just....didn't?"
"The money was just reinvested in the companies to expand overseas and pay legal fees fighting against competitors with fiber plans and blocking future expansion."
"'Here is 400 billion dollars, please use it to give us all good internet'."
"'Ok'."
"'Hey, where's that high-speed internet you were gonna put in?'"
"'Oh we decided that was way too expensive, it would cost like 400 billion and we just don't have the money'."
"'Have this DSL instead over the existing network'."- natebradyy
fiber optic perfect loops GIFGiphy
No Matter How Many Times You Read It, It Still Won't Make Sense
"The mayor of Badalona being stopped for speeding under the influence and being outside of his confinement area during the pandemic and then biting a police officer."- Mutxarra
Nope!
"Four seasons landscaping .. need I say more?"- surefirelongshot
Talk About A "Vice"...
"A US Vice President shot his buddy in the face while hunting birds with clipped wings."
"Then had the friend apologize on national TV."- tubbstosterone
dick cheney film GIFGiphy
One Scandal Leading Into Another!
"John Stonehouse."
"Caught up in creative accounting of firms he established after he lost ministerial roles and related pay, this former Member of Parliament and head of the British Post Office decided to fake his own death so he could run off with his mistress to Australia, after embezzling a sh*t-ton of money."
"But his method of faking his death was so absurd - leaving his clothes on the beach and swimming out to sea, to make it look like he had either drowned or was attacked by a shark - was so absurd that it wasn't believed."
"And unfortunately, when he arrived in Austria, his behavior caught the eye of locals who reported him to the police."
"Because they presumed he was Lord Lucan, a more high-profile disappearance of a British peer who disappeared, after he murdered the nanny of his children while trying to kill his ex-wife and kidnap his children, only two weeks beforehand."
"And to prove he wasn't Lucan, he was forced by the Australian police to drop his pants and show them his balls."
"Yes, really."- res30stupid
Talk About Bridge Burning...
"The 'Bridgegate' scandal in New Jersey in 2013."
"It involved Governor Chris Christie's administration orchestrating lane closures on the George Washington Bridge as political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, who didn't endorse Christie's reelection bid."- Katze1Punkt0
Someone Had To Say It...
"The goat George Santos."- dcrico20
Santos This Aint It GIF by GIPHY NewsGiphy
Indeed, to create sensational stories, writers will need some sensational inspiration.
Twenty years or so from now, it's hard to imagine anyone won't look back on political headlines from 2016 onward wondering how these stories could possibly be real.
Something many of us certainly wish they weren't...
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social