Shocking footage from California.
This video aims to show a humpback whale surprising and devouring two women kayaking.
Numerous social media users spread, commented and liked the spectacular recording.
The clip is being circulated along with claims that the massive marine mammal swallowed the women.
But what about the story? Is the video real or a fake?
The video was made in November 2020 and actually shows a humpback whale taking Julie McSorley and Liz Cottriel into its mouth while kayaking.
However, contrary to what is claimed on social media, the two women are not swallowed by the animal. The whale then spits them out unharmed.
Further recordings of the incident show the events from different perspectives.
Julie McSorley told Snopes fact-checkers that she and Liz Cottriel were actually in the whale’s mouth when they dunked.
“You can clearly see that we were completely inside the whale’s mouth when it went under.” – Julie McSorley vs. “Snopes”
The case shows how easily even spectacular videos can be exaggerated into even more dramatic stories through exaggerated accompanying texts on social media.
Two women who end up in the mouth of a whale become a duo who are swallowed by the marine mammal.
How do we check videos for manipulation in the editorial office? It is important to look at the details. The individual frames of a video often reveal whether a video has been edited. We take a close look at each image and enlarge individual sections. Indications of a fake are, for example: lack of motion blur, unnatural shadows or editing errors. The general rule at stern is: Seriousness before speed. We always double-check facts and material thoroughly before publishing them. For this we work with the cross-editorial “Team Verification” together with RTL, NTV, RTL2, Radio NRW.