Girl uses Photoshop to fool her family into thinking she was on vacation in Asia

A Dutch graphic artist managed to fool her entire family and friends into believing she was on an exotic vacation all across Southeast Asia for five straight weeks, until she revealed that it was all just Photoshop magic.

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Zilla van den Born, a student in Amsterdam, never even left her hometown as she posted photos on social media of herself visiting stunning beaches, enjoying authentic South East Asian cuisine, snorkeling in the Indian Ocean, and meeting Buddhist Monks. All of her 'vacation photos' were actually taken inside her apartment or around Amsterdam, and the images manipulated to make them appear as if she was on the other side of the globe.

"I did this to show people that we filter and manipulate what we show on social media. We create an ideal world online which reality can no longer meet," wrote Born. "We live in a visual culture in which mediated information and reality are intertwined."

While Born continued to produce these photos from the safety of her desk, Born's classmates, friends, parents and entire family were convinced she had been seeing all the sights in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

Born even had her parents drop her off at the airport, but instead of flying to Asia, she took a train home. When her parents came back to the airport to pick her up five weeks later, Born just took the same train back, looking homesick and tan. No one had suspected the ruse.

Eventually, she let the cat of the bag to her loved ones, and shared their reactions in a video. Watch their reaction below.

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But those Buddhist monks she met in the temple? Just a set she built in a garage.

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Those exotic dishes? Made in her own kitchen.

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That Skype session with her family from that swanky Thai hotel? Blackout curtains and Christmas tree lights.

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She even faked out this snorkeling photo, which was taken in a pool. Later, she tanned at a local salon to make it seem like she had been getting more sun along her travels.

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What do you make of this? Best prank ever? Or do we put too much trust in the images we see on social media? Let us know in the comments below.