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View submission: A Guide to Reddit Lingo
- Animal Videos
YouTube, ViralHog, TikTok and similar pop media outlets are rich pickings for Redditors looking for new content to post, especially when it comes to short animal videos. Unfortunately, some of these cute rescue videos which look fun, fascinating and excellent fits for subreddits like r/humansbeingbros, r/nextfuckinglevel, r/BeAmazed, r/Damnthatsinteresting or even r/blackmagicfuckery, are likely to have been staged.
Quite apart from any ethical issues (of which there are obviously many), posting one of these on Reddit can backfire on you when someone inevitably comes along to debunk them. The upvotes and accolades you were hoping to get become downvotes and flame. So, how can you spot these fakes without becoming bitter and cynical about everything you see?
When a short video throws you straight into the action, you’re so caught up in the narrative that you don’t consider what might have happened immediately before. For instance, that cute little hermit crab scurrying across a beach choosing between various shells[1] thoughtfully provided by the person in the film?
What we don’t know is how the unfortunate crustacean became homeless on a hot beach in the first place when they normally go house-hunting underwater; how the person so conveniently found the homeless critter at the very time he decided to switch-up shells, and where they got all those semi-identical perfect shells the person presents to the helpless animal on an otherwise empty beach. Talking of which, just how did that octopus find itself stuffed into an ill-fitting shell[2]?
Nobody wants to think the worst of people. We shouldn’t be forced into a position where we start to think every lovely coincidence has an alternative and grim backstory. But unfortunately, there is a very real problem with animal videos we need to be aware of[3]. Puppies and kittens in immediate and unlikely peril? There’s quite a lot of them[4], unfortunately, including staged “snake rescue” videos[5] and the problem is that many of these channels are based in countries where there are little or no animal rights protections.
3: https://www.reddit.com/r/rage/comments/iy4ey6/the_disturbing_fake_animal_rescue_channels/
4: https://inspiremari.nl/watch-out-for-fake-animal-rescue-videos-on-youtube/
5: https://gizmodo.com/youtube-starts-banning-fake-rescue-videos-of-snakes-att-1835376766
Remember those amazing ‘fishing with coke and mentos” videos[6]? There are many similar videos going around, and they have all been exposed as fakes[7]. Again, it’s what we *don’t* see that is the problem: to the left of the hole (off camera) is another person just shoving pre-caught fish (or whatever the video is demonstrating) through these holes.
6: https://youtu.be/tSI-kj9A_pc
7: https://www.sciencealert.com/is-that-viral-catfish-egg-coke-and-mentos-video-a-hoax
One video uploaded by Technique Tools (the originator of these videos) claims the videos are planned, scripted, and made for fun, as well as a disclaimer that no animals are hurt and the fish “come out by pushing behind the video at the left side.” However, it is pretty clear in iDubbbz’s video that some of those catfish have been out of water for some time, and that snake who was pretty reluctant to go into the water suddenly can’t get in quick enough when he reaches air again at the other side that is hidden from us.
Reddit, on the whole, is doing a good job in exposing fake animal rescue rings[8]. However, staged animal rescue videos need to be stopped[9] and r/AnimalRights keeps a list for reference[10].
8: https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/lv77kv/youtubes_fake_animal_rescue_ring/
9: https://youtu.be/Y9S_6oprme0
- Animal Photography
Unfortunately, it isn’t just animal videos that are faked. Whimsical ‘nature’ stills photography is even easier to fake and isn’t actually against some photo competition rules as this article states[11]: “Images used in Nature Photography competitions may be divided in two classes: Nature and Wildlife. Images entered in Nature sections meeting the Nature Photography Definition above can have landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. *This includes images taken with the subjects in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.*”
11: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3994285
Next time you see an underwater photo of a kingfisher catching its lunch, look closely at the fish; it might not be alive at all, or even worse, its tail might have been removed[12] to prevent it swimming away in the studio aquarium or tank setup.
12: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/comments/e4hi0z/a_kingfisher_catching_a_fish_underwater/
That cute frog riding a tortoise[13] also might not be what it seems. There’s a photo of a tree frog riding a beetle[14] that resurfaces on r/aww or r/pics from time to time. This article claims it’s authentic[15] but as the photographer is being interviewed by the Daily Mail, more than a little scepticism is warranted.
13: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/whimsical-wildlife-photography-isnt-seems
14: https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/5t8qcn/just_a_tiny_frog_riding_a_tiny_beetle/
15: http://resourcemagonline.com/2015/02/photographer-snaps-a-frog-horsing-with-a-beetle/48438/
It doesn’t take much of a search to find that article is very much in the minority on that opinion[16] and that there’s strong evidence posted by the photographer himself that the frogs and many of his subjects were captive animals[17].
16: https://gizmodo.com/can-this-picture-of-a-frog-riding-a-beetle-be-real-or-i-1689732899
An herpetologist in that article said “I can’t stand these images. To someone very familiar with frogs, it’s really sad to see the poor frog in this situation. I don’t believe that these photos are of a naturally occurring situation. To me, they appear to be highly staged, and there is evidence that the frog is distressed. Frogs are so amazing without being used as props, it’s upsetting that they felt it necessary.”
Some years ago, *The Verge* ran an article[18] highlighting the work a Facebook group is doing to call out these and similarly cruelly staged photos.
Not every photo is staged. Some wildlife photographers spend years trying to get that perfect shot[19] and some just get very lucky indeed. The famous shot of a weasel hitching a ride on the back of a woodpecker[20] comes with plenty of authentication[21] as the photographer posted photos of the entire sequence including the weasel running away and the exhausted bird recovering after the landing[22].
19: https://www.wired.com/2016/01/alan-mcfadyen-kingfisher-dive/
20: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31711446
22: https://www.ripleys.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/WeaselPecker01.jpg
Use a reverse image search or u/risbot to check that cute photo before commenting. Call out staged videos or photos whoever you see them, and maybe also on r/AnimalRights, r/quityourbullshit or r/untrustworthypoptarts.
There's nothing here!
