A report claiming that a “Second Giant Sea Creature Washes Ashore Along Santa Monica Coastline - Alarms Sound Over Radioactive Gigantism”--published around a week ago--is still getting heavy play on Facebook and Twitter, even though it’s satire.
“For the second time in recent months, a giant sea creature has washed ashore in California. First it was a rare oarfish that had grown to a freakish 100-foot length. This time it was a giant squid measuring a whopping 160 feet from head to tentacle tip,” the satire article from the Lightly Braised Turnip reads.
The article has a photo of a squid that washed up in Spain taken last fall, and the picture of the squid was Photoshopped onto a shore to make it appear gigantic.
The Turnip website doesn’t have a disclaimer saying it’s satire but it appears to only publish hoax and fake news reports with outlandish claims. Some of the articles include “Exclusive Interview with Santa Claus On Diverse Santas” and “Bud Selig: Red Sox Fans Most Annoying Fans Anywhere.”
No local or national media outlets reported on the squid.
On Facebook and Twitter, a number of people appeared to believe the report about the squid, retweeting it more than 7,000 times and “liking” or sharing it more than 1 million times.
