These days, it appears that the editorial process for many outlets to decide whether to publish a rumor goes something like this: Is it based in fact? Nah. Is it true? Probably not. Will people click and retweet it? Yes. Sold! We're not talking about reasonable speculation. We mean the random, unfounded, where-did-you-even-get this kind of crap that sets off any pop culture aficionado's bullshit detector from a mile away.

And as you can see ahead, 2016 did not disappoint. From utterly random couples and fake infants to a certain WWE star's purported death, this year had it all.