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The Cat in the Hat killer — FALSE
People claimed that a killer dressed as the Cat in the Hat was roaming the streets of Britain and Ireland. The scare was a hoax fuelled by fabricated images, videos and social media posts.
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The drunken raccoon — TRUE
News outlets reported that a raccoon had broken into a liquor store, got drunk and passed out in the bathroom. It happened in Virginia. Animal control officers collected the raccoon, which recovered and was released.
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The kangaroo at the airport — FALSE
A viral video appeared to show a kangaroo waiting to board a plane. Fact-checkers reported that the video had been generated using AI and traced it to an account that published artificial animal videos.
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The whale and the kayaker — TRUE, BUT WITH A CATCH!
It was reported that a whale had swallowed a man in a kayak and then spat him out. The encounter really happened off the coast of Chile, and the man’s father filmed it. However, “swallowed” was misleading: the whale briefly took him into its mouth, but he did not go down its throat.
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The orangutan and the leopard cubs — FALSE
A social media post said that an orangutan had been photographed looking after leopard cubs in the jungle. The image was fake and was an example of AI-generated wildlife content.
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The robot rabbits — TRUE
Researchers said that they were using robot rabbits to lure giant snakes out of hiding in Florida. They deployed 120 robot rabbits that produced heat, scent and movement to help attract invasive Burmese pythons.
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The sharks in the swimming pool — FALSE
People claimed that a hurricane had washed four sharks into a hotel swimming pool in Jamaica. The video circulated during Hurricane Melissa, but it had been generated using AI.
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The possum among the toys — TRUE
A news report said that workers had discovered a real possum sitting among the cuddly toys in an airport shop. It happened at Hobart Airport in Australia. A staff member filmed the animal before it left the shop.
Discuss
Which answer surprised you most? Complete this sentence:
We thought that …, but we found out that …