Connect with us

World

Viral video of ‘real mermaid’ labeled ‘fake’ by authorities

Published

on

WHAT’S BEING CLAIMED:

  • A viral video claiming to show a “real mermaid” in South Africa was labeled ‘fake’ by authorities.
  • People who saw the video on YouTube said the sighting actually occurred in Kenya.
  • Local authorities have to debunk the claims by saying it was “fake.”

Various clips claiming to show a “real mermaid” on a beach have gone viral across TikTok and YouTube, causing widespread speculation about how the footage came to be, and leading local authorities to debunk the claims. 

On April 6, a user called Aamir Cali uploaded a TikTok captioned “Real Mermaid Caught in Muizenberg South Africa.” The clip shows a group of people crowding around a human-like figure with a long moving tail attached to its lower body. 

It went viral with 9.6 million views and is one of several on the user’s account that claim to show a “real mermaid” caught on film. The user did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. 

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is no evidence that mermaids — known in mythology as creatures that are half-human and half-fish — have ever lived on the earth.

The majority of comments under the video expressed skepticism, with viewers confused by what the footage depicted. Some speculated the tail-like object in the clip is actually a large fish that has partially swallowed the child. Several comments also said the tail-like object may be attached to a “set of strings” that could be pulled to make it move. 

Dan Evon wrote for fact-checking website Snopes that, “In all likelihood, this video is a digitally altered composite featuring genuine footage of a dying fish and digitally added images of a child or doll.”

British television news outlet ITV News also analyzed the video in an April 14 report broadcast exclusively on Instagram and YouTube, concluding that, “With no solid scientific evidence of mermaids even existing, and this video’s authenticity being disputed, it’s pretty unlikely that this is actually a mermaid.”

On April 7, additional footage of what appeared to be the same scene resurfaced on several YouTube and TikTok accounts, but this time, captions under the videos said it was filmed in Ukanda, which is a town in Kenya. These videos have millions of combined views. 

Advertisement

According to local Kenyan news channel NTV News, the Coast Regional Commissioner and Kwale County Commander in Kenya have dismissed the videos “as lies,” and said, “Reports of an alleged mermaid spotted in Ukanda that are circulating on social media are fake.” Police in Ukanda and the Kwale County Commander did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for additional comment. 

Source: Insider

Advertisement
9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. george

    May 3, 2022 at 10:16 pm

    well now, mermaids are supposed to have boobs, but not mermen. and you can see where the bottom have is joined to the body, looks like some guy snuggled into a fake fish tail thing.

    • Rattlerjake

      June 13, 2022 at 10:19 pm

      Oh come on now, it’s just a black drum!

  2. Lee Higby

    June 14, 2022 at 10:44 am

    Well, why can’t that be a real live merboy? Why can’t you all leave him/it alone? Why?? 😥
    What would any of you do if you encountered one of the most elusive critters on earth?
    Please, please just leave them alone, please 😥

    • Sapienne

      March 11, 2023 at 12:37 pm

      Good Gawd! You “cry real tears” for a fake that is not even good enough to be a deep-fake??? Check into some psychotherapy, dude. You seem to be more emotional than a three year old baby girl.

  3. Rumplestiltskin

    July 12, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    One quick way to tell if a mermaid is real, is to take a long needle and stab it in its flesh near the tail. If the top supposed human part doesn’t react, then you know it is fake. You must conceal what you are doing so if the person is alive and see what you’re doing they will let out a scream making you believe they are real. You must be clandestine in your approach to what you’re going to do.

    Both of the photos are contrived fakes. There have been photos and even collected corpses of real mermen or mermaids, and they do not look like either of those photos.

    This stupidity crops up every few years by scammers who want some notoriety.

  4. Ron

    March 11, 2023 at 11:26 am

    like every other thing in the world, humans have to dissect it to see if it was real or not!

    • Sapienne

      March 11, 2023 at 12:38 pm

      In this case, YES, yes we do.

  5. JoAnn Leichliter

    May 23, 2023 at 7:11 pm

    Snopes? Geez, get a different fact checker. Assuming you need one to debunk a mermaid hoax…

  6. Old Man

    May 24, 2023 at 11:46 am

    I think I saw this ‘Mermaid’ at the Submarine ride at Disneyland.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Science

Pregnant Teen Says She’s Carrying Evil Spirit’s Baby

Published

on

In a Nutshell:

  • A 19-year-old Colombian woman, claiming to have never been with a man, asserts she was impregnated by an ‘evil spirit’, sparking a spirited debate on social media.
  • Following strange dreams and a sense of supernatural presences, along with her missing periods, a visit to the gynecologist confirmed her pregnancy.
  • Despite some skepticism and accusations of her fabricating the story, there are also supporters who believe her claims, citing they’ve heard similar stories before.

When it comes to tales of the unexpected, this one is surely one for the books.

A 19-year-old woman from Colombia, who says she has never been romantically involved with a man, now insists that her current pregnancy is the work of an ‘evil spirit.’

A supernatural Casanova, if you will.

The Colombian teen has been stirring up all kinds of chatter on Latino social media after she boldly told TV Malambo, a local media outlet, that she’s convinced her pregnancy is a supernatural event.

According to her, she began having strange dreams and experienced eerie presences in her room.

Then suddenly, she stopped having her period, leading her mother to rush her to a gynecologist, who declared her pregnant.

Advertisement

She made the claim inn a statement that almost reads like a novel.

“I have not been with any man, suddenly I stopped menstruating and my mother took me to the health center for a check-up and there I found out that I got pregnant.”

The young woman accepts that her story is difficult to swallow and confesses that she herself is puzzled about her mysterious pregnancy.

However, this hasn’t stopped the internet from erupting into a spirited (pun intended) debate.

Some skeptics suggest she concocted the story to dodge parental wrath, while others back her claim, swearing they’ve heard of similar instances.

One supporter commented, “She is telling the truth, I have heard of other cases like this. The last thing her father or mother should do is kick her out of the family home.”

It should be noted that in Colombia, teen pregnancies are more common than in most countries worldwide.

But this is definitely not your average teen pregnancy story.

Advertisement

In fact, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the first ‘supernaturally-induced’ pregnancy we’ve heard about.

Just last year, an Indonesian woman claimed she got pregnant after a gust of wind swept through her.

With stories like these, who needs Netflix for entertainment?


Source

Continue Reading

World

The ‘Amazon Jungle Book’: 4 Kids Survive 40-Day Ordeal After Plane Crash [Video]

Published

on

In a Nutshell:

  • Four indigenous children, ranging in age from 11 months to 13 years old, were found in the Amazon jungle 40 days after the crash of their small plane.
  • Their survival is hailed as a miracle, and it’s noted that they must have survived on available resources in the jungle.
  • Search efforts involved tracking dogs, the military, and indigenous communities, with footprints believed to belong to one of the children aiding the successful rescue mission.

In a real-life saga that puts any Hollywood survival drama to shame, four indigenous kids, including a baby, made it through a whopping 40 days in the Amazon jungle after their plane crashed.

These extraordinary children, members of the Uitoto Indigenous community and aged from 11 months to 13 years, went from “missing presumed gnawed” to “survivors extraordinaire” in a twist that had Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, lauding them as national heroes.

“They themselves are an example of survival that will go down in history,” Petro declared at a news conference.

“Today, those children are the children of peace and the children of Colombia.”

Their health remains a mystery, with doctors yet to make that call.

“Their health must be frail,” speculated Petro, making us all picture these tykes going full ‘Bear Grylls’ to survive.

Advertisement

Petro also said, “We need to see into their mental health.”

The children, identified as Lesly, Soleiny, Tien, and baby Cristin, survived when their plane, in an unfortunate game of ‘nose goes,’ buried its snout in the Colombian jungle after an engine failure.

While the wreckage was discovered two weeks later with three unfortunate adult casualties, the quartet was nowhere to be found.

In a plot twist that would have hardened detectives smiling, footprints believed to belong to one of the kids sparked hope they were still alive.

The search continued with tracking dogs, armed forces, and local Indigenous communities, proving once and for all that you should never bet against local knowledge when it comes to jungles.

President Petro took time to credit both the military and the indigenous communities.

“The work between armed forces and Indigenous communities — who obviously know the jungle better than we do — that work was successful,” he said.

Advertisement

It was a show of unity that makes the phrase “It takes a village” seem a bit inadequate.

In the end, it was the indigenous communities and military who found the kids, marking a happy ending to a tale that will no doubt be remembered as the ‘Miracle of the Amazon.’

Hollywood, are you listening?


Source

Continue Reading

Science

Don’t Try This at Home: YouTuber’s Deadly Jellyfish Soup Stirs the Pot [Video]

Published

on

In a Nutshell:

  • Popular Japanese YouTuber ‘homosapi’ stirred up a controversy by cooking and eating a broth made from Portuguese Man-o-Wars, a marine organism known for its deadly sting, in a video for his over one million subscribers.
  • While the YouTuber reported no ill effects and described the taste as similar to scallops, marine experts strongly cautioned against trying to recreate the risky recipe, due to the potential for remaining toxicity and risk of inhaling poisonous fumes during cooking.
  • Despite having a health professional present during the stunt, homosapi’s video has sparked a debate about responsible content creation, and experts are urging the public to avoid attempting to cook or consume dangerous marine creatures like the Man-o-War.

In what might be the next “do not try this at home” viral sensation, popular Japanese YouTuber ‘homosapi’ has stirred the pot, quite literally, with a marine menace: the Portuguese Man-o-War.

To his over one million subscribers, he served up a video of himself cooking and slurping a broth made from these dangerous dwellers of the deep.

Known for their venomous sting capable of immobilizing or even killing its prey, the Portuguese Man-o-War is not your usual soup du jour.

However, homosapi was not deterred, having been inspired by adventurous eaters who allegedly claimed the venomous creature’s broth was as delectable as the finest delicacy.

Seeking not only the thrill of the culinary dare but also the promise of viral views, homosapi and his friends embarked on a beach trip, hunting for washed-up Man-o-Wars.

Once they’d bagged their jelly-like prizes, the YouTuber proceeded to cook them into a wobbly blob.

He added veggies, sauces, and a suspect pinch of MSG before diving in with a daring taste test.

Advertisement

His verdict?

It’s somewhat scallop-esque, with no apparent ill effects.

While the YouTuber may have taken the phrase “anything for views” quite literally, marine life experts were quick to condemn the stunt.

Warning the public against recreating this risky recipe, they emphasized that while a boiled Man-o-War might lose some of its toxicity, there’s no guarantee that the potent, protein-based poison is completely neutralized.

Shuhei Ikeda, a jellyfish breeder at the Kamo Aquarium, also highlighted the danger of inhaling toxic fumes during the cooking process, which could result in serious allergies and breathing issues.

In an attempt to counterbalance the wild stunt, homosapi revealed that a health professional was on hand throughout the precarious cooking show.

Nonetheless, the video continues to raise eyebrows and spark debates about responsible content creation.

So, folks, let’s stick to more traditional soup ingredients, shall we?

Advertisement

Leave the Man-o-Wars to the marine experts, not the daredevil YouTubers.


Source

Continue Reading

Trending