Images claiming to show two great white sharks in the Mississippi River were published by React365 recently. It claimed they were seen in the portion of the river near St. Louis, Missouri.
Of the supposed sighting, React365 had this to say:
While it is not entirely impossible, it is incredibly uncommon for salt water dwelling creatures to stay for lengthy periods of time in fresh water. However, two Great White Sharks have managed to survive the trip and make their way up the Mississippi River somehow. Believed to have started as a mating couple, the two are assumed to have swam the 920 mile journey from the mouth of the Mississippi River that is connected to the Gulf Of Mexico. Officials in Saint Louis have contacted the Missouri Conservation Department and will likely have a team in the river soon to capture the two lost sharks.
It turns out the photos were actually of two bull sharks, not great whites. The sharks weren’t anywhere near the Mississippi either. They were actually spotted in the Sirena River in Costa Rica.
The photograph itself has been around since 2008, when it was posted to Flickr, saying exactly what the sharks were and where they were seen.
The picture also gives away the identity of the shark species. Here’s a bull shark fin:
Here’s a great white fin:
There’s a noticeable shape and size difference that any shark enthusiast or expert could have easily noticed.
The funny thing is, React365 is a website specializing in allowing people to create convincing-looking fake news articles. The site even says you can create fake news to prank your friends on its main page.
As a rule of thumb, things on the internet that seem to ridiculous to be true typically are. Researching the source of the claim is the quickest way to find out if the claim is completely bogus or if it has some truth.
