Fact Check

Did a Greenpeace Activist Get His Arm Bitten Off After Hugging a Shark?

An article claiming that a great white shark attacked a Greenpeace activist originated on a well-known fake news site.

Published Feb. 2, 2018

 (Martin Prochazkacz / Shutterstock)
Image courtesy of Martin Prochazkacz / Shutterstock
Claim:
A Greenpeace activist had his arm bitten off when he tried to hug a shark.

On 1 February 2018, the dubious web site World News Daily Report published a fake news article about a Greenpeace activist who had his arm bitten off by a shark after they tried to give it a hug:

An environmental activist was almost killed Yesterday in the Indian Ocean, after the great white shark he was trying to hug suddenly attacked him and bit his arm off.

21-year old Darrell Waterford, from Eugene in Oregon, was participating in a promotional video for Greenpeace, some 100 nautical miles away from the Australian city of Perth.

This is not a genuine news article.

World News Daily Report has a well-known history of publishing misinformation. The site carries a disclaimer labeling all of its content as "satirical" in nature:

World News Daily Report assumes all responsibility for the satirical nature of its articles and for the fictional nature of their content. All characters appearing in the articles in this website – even those based on real people – are entirely fictional and any resemblance between them and any person, living, dead or undead, is purely a miracle.

The featured image for this fake story actually shows Kaleb Langdale, who was attacked by an alligator in Florida in 2012.

Sources

Miller, Toni-Ann.   "Moore Haven Teen Who Lost Part of His Arm in Gator Attack Tells His Story."     Palm Beach Post.   11 July 2012.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/greenpeace-activist-get-arm-bitten-off-hugging-white-shark/
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