claim: A nine-foot-long bull shark was found in Kentucky Lake.
origin: In June 2017,Â fake news web site React365 postedÂ a captioned photo of a shark fin peeking out ofÂ a body of water withÂ the headline â€œBull Shark Spotted in Kentucky Lakeâ€: Slight though it was, the page got a lot of play on social mediaÂ â€” partly, we hope, in recognition of its humorous intent. A nine-foot-long bull shark was not, in fact, found in Kentucky Lake, a man-made reservoirÂ alongÂ the western bordersÂ ofÂ Kentucky and Tennessee. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Services made that clear in a sternly worded Facebook post dated 27 June 2017: A grammatically challenged disclaimer on the site claims its purpose is entertainment: React365Â users sometimesÂ copy and repost the sameÂ material with minor changes to localize or personalize a joke in hopes of garnering shares on social media. Examples include: Bull Shark in Philpott Lake Virginia,Â Great White Sharks Spotted in Mississippi River, andÂ Great White Sharks Found in Illinois River. For that matter, ersatz shark sightings are a perennial favorite on fake news web sites and social media generally. For example, weâ€™ve previously debunked:Â Bull Shark Caught in the Ohio River, Fisherman Captures 3,000-Pound Great White Shark in Great Lakes, andÂ Photo of a Baby Great White Shark. Sticklers for detail will have noticed that the image shared with the React365 post does not depict the fin of a freshwater bull shark, but that of a great white shark instead. The image, normally credited to UC Davis, has been used all over the Internet for the past seven years or more, including in actual news stories.