In the hospital room, Joe held up his phone, snapping selfies from every angle. After inspecting the pictures with a critical eye, he muttered to himself, "Who’s the shameless idiot claiming I’m seriously injured? If they’ve got the guts to say it, I don’t even have the face to admit it."

All he had was a slightly reddened bump on his forehead from hitting the seat—no cuts, no bruises. Yet the sensationalist reporters made it seem like he was clinging to life, ...