New Search

Check the Claim: Did a shark swim in a backyard during Hurricane Ian?

SKILL: Check the Claim

DIFFICULTY: Challenging

SUBJECT(S): Politics/Current Events

Posted: October 29, 2022

It's a tale as old as time (or at least 2011). During nearly every major hurricane, social media becomes full of false claims about sharks swimming in the streets. Use a keyword search to find out that the "hurricane" Ian shark is real!

Related Lesson

Verification Skills Lesson 3: Check the Claim (sign-in required)

Link to Example

Backyard shark (X/Twitter)
still from video that claims to show shark swimming in flooded backyard

About the Example

Teacher note: If you cannot access X/Twitter, click here to view the video uploaded to our YouTube channel that you can share with your students.

During Hurricane Irene in 2011, a manipulated image of a shark swimming in the streets went viral on social media. Since then, the “hurricane shark” hoax has become a major adversary of professional fact-checkers, resurfacing whenever a major storm is in the news.

When claims (and a video) of a shark swimming in a Floridian’s backyard emerged during Hurricane Ian in 2022, it seemed like the longstanding hoax had reared its head (or fin) yet again. This time, however, the video was authentic, and the claim seemed to be true. By doing a keyword search, we can see that the 2022 story has been verified by numerous journalistic sources — though there is some uncertainty as to whether the aquatic animal in the video is actually a shark.



Activities

  1. Explain to students that the “hurricane shark” is a longstanding social media hoax that often surfaces when there is a major storm. Show them examples from Hurricane Irene in 2011, Hurricane Matthew in 2016, and Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
  2.  Show students the 2022 video allegedly showing a shark in the streets of Florida during Hurricane Ian.
  3. Ask students to do a keyword search to see if this video really shows a shark swimming in someone’s backyard during Hurricane Ian or if it’s yet another example of the “hurricane shark” hoax.
  4. Ask students to share their findings. A keyword search should reveal a number of journalistic sources (such as the Washington Post, New York Times, or AP News) that confirm that the 2022 video has been verified as authentic. Ask students to share which sources they used to verify the claim and how they know the source is reputable. Remind students that they can use the Wikipedia trick to learn more about a source if it is unfamiliar.
  5. If students skim the articles, they should also find that there is some uncertainty as to whether the animal in the video is actually a shark or some other large fish.
  6. Because claims about hurricane sharks have been around for more than a decade, it’s possible that students find older reporting about the previous hoaxes. Remind students to include “hurricane Ian” in their search terms and to make sure the article they find refers to the 2022 hurricane.


Related Resources