GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — And now in information that any Michigander might inform you: Movies posted to social media a few huge shark seen in Lake Michigan are pretend.
The TikTok movies, together with one which garnered greater than 1 million views and 46,200 likes, declare a large shark has attacked swimmers and killed divers. The social media posts declare a brand new “Kodiak” shark species has been found that lives in freshwater lakes.
“The Kodiak shark was just spotted in Lake Michigan, and it’s terrifying,” one video says.
The video claimed {that a} group of scuba divers on the lookout for treasure and “abandoned underwater bases built by governments” have been attacked by a 70-foot shark. It claims three of the 4 divers didn’t make it again to shore.
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One other video claims Corewell Well being has seen a number of sufferers who have been attacked by sharks in Lake Michigan. It claims {that a} group of divers have been despatched to “eliminate” the shark, however have been as a substitute attacked by a number of sharks that have been no less than 65 toes lengthy.
The movies, which encourage viewers to share the video with a view to acquire entry to video of the assault, are pretend.
A spokesperson for Corewell Well being advised Information 8 it has had no shark assault sufferers, and a spokesperson for the Michigan Division of Pure Sources stated the movies are false.
“There’s no truth to this,” the DNR spokesperson stated in an electronic mail to Information 8.
It is not the primary hoax or city legend a few shark within the Nice Lakes, the Detroit Free Press studies. In a July article, the Detroit Free Press reported there are not any sharks within the Nice Lakes, that are too chilly for sharks to outlive, although a bull shark — which may tolerate recent water — could have gotten near Lake Michigan by means of the Mississippi River in 1937.
The Kodiak shark additionally seems to be a made-up species. A number of shark databases Information 8 searched turned up zero outcomes for it. Plus, a 70-foot shark can be huge: The most important shark is the whale shark, which may get as giant as 60 toes, based on the Smithsonian Establishment.
Many commentators on the TikTok movies known as the story out for being pretend. Nonetheless, it is a good reminder you can’t belief every thing you see on on-line, particularly with the rising prevalence of AI, which can be utilized to create convincing deepfakes and misinformation.
A NewsGuard examine discovered that when customers seek for information subjects on TikTok, nearly 20%, or about 1 in 5, of the movies that popped up contained misinformation.
Researchers discovered movies with false claims concerning the 2020 election and COVID-19. Different movies promoted unsafe medical recommendation, like directions on easy methods to make a prescription drug at house or easy methods to use herbs to terminate a being pregnant.
In the UK, the BBC discovered that TikTok was displaying younger voters AI-generated movies with election misinformation, with one pretend video making it appear to be a UK politician advised voters to not vote for him.
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But the quantity of adults in use TikTok as a information supply within the U.S. is rising, the Pew Analysis Middle discovered. In 2020, 3% of adults stated they commonly get information from TikTok; this yr that quantity has grown to 17%. For younger folks between the ages of 18 to 29, 39% use TikTok for information.
To confirm suspicious social media movies, test with trusted information shops, authorities companies or knowledgeable organizations like universities, analysis teams or hospitals. If the one place you are seeing a chunk of data is a TikTok video or two, do not belief it.
Greg Gogolin, Ph.D., professor and director of cybersecurity and information science at Ferris State College, stated you have to be cautious about trusting something you see on-line.
“You do have to be vigilant, perhaps suspicious,” he beforehand advised Information 8. “It’s very troublesome to consider something anymore.”
