A nine-foot-long bull shark was found in Kentucky Lake.
A nine-foot-long bull shark was found in Kentucky Lake.
In June 2017,Â fake news web site React365 postedÂ a captioned photo of a shark fin peeking out ofÂ a body of water withÂ the headline â€œBull Shark Spotted in Kentucky Lakeâ€: Slight though it was, the page got a lot of play on social mediaÂ â€” partly, we hope, in recognition of its humorous intent. A nine-foot-long bull shark was not, in fact, found in Kentucky Lake, a man-made reservoirÂ alongÂ the western bordersÂ ofÂ Kentucky and Tennessee. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Services made that clear in a sternly worded Facebook post dated 27 June 2017: A grammatically challenged disclaimer on the site claims its purpose is entertainment: React365Â users sometimesÂ copy and repost the sameÂ material with minor changes to localize or personalize a joke in hopes of garnering shares on social media. Examples include: Bull Shark in Philpott Lake Virginia,Â Great White Sharks Spotted in Mississippi River, andÂ Great White Sharks Found in Illinois River. For that matter, ersatz shark sightings are a perennial favorite on fake news web sites and social media generally. For example, weâ€™ve previously debunked:Â Bull Shark Caught in the Ohio River, Fisherman Captures 3,000-Pound Great White Shark in Great Lakes, andÂ Photo of a Baby Great White Shark. Sticklers for detail will have noticed that the image shared with the React365 post does not depict the fin of a freshwater bull shark, but that of a great white shark instead. The image, normally credited to UC Davis, has been used all over the Internet for the past seven years or more, including in actual news stories.
"bull" AND "shark" AND "kentucky" AND "lake"