Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Flying Penguins Head to the Tropics for Winter!


With the blossoming of the internet, we now have more access to news, discoveries, and innovations than ever before. New science findings and developments are available to us at the push of a button. While some of the information being given to us is incredible and informational, not all of the articles are providing us with proper information.

What do I mean by this? Well, let’s take a look at one of the many examples that are out there. In 2008, BBC released a video claiming that a new group of penguins were actually able to fly to the south for the winter. With impressive video editing and production tactics, the story looked like it could be real. With our eyes physically seeing these penguins take flight, many people believed this phenomenon to be true.

Unfortunately, this incredible new group of penguins was actually a made up story in order to promote a feature of BBC called IPlay on World Penguin Day. The message of the video was not to miss the “unmissable”, and obviously, to them, flying penguins would fall under that category, even if there was no such event occurring.

Still feel like you need further evidence that penguins have never and do not currently posses the ability to fly? The lack of scientific papers being written on these incredible new flying penguins is a sure sign that the event never actually occurred, as if it did, surely there would be plenty research and publications on the matter. Also, in nearly every paper written about penguins, they are referred to as flightless birds.

The moral of the story here is to not believe everything you read or see online, as many companies and individuals use fake science as an advertisement tactic, to prove a point, or just to have fun.

Posted by Jamie Downer (Group A, Week 3)

12 comments:

  1. Fake news can definitely be used to spread misinformation, sell something, or for entertainment. Why did the BBC use this fake story? What advantage did making up this story provide over using real science? Was it for entertainment?

    Posted by "Chandler Kupris"

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    1. You're right in that fake news has so many purposes. I think that BBC used this story to both entertain and increase their following. Their campaign was to "not miss the unmissable", so I think that they wanted to use an fake story to hammer home their point. The ad was also released on World Penguin Day, so it fit then current events.

      Posted by Jamie Downer

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  2. That is what i hate about news. Especially the really fresh news, usually i don't get impressed by any shocking scientific news until further research are done or until i make sure that this is right and how well said was the information by reading the scientific paper. Unfortunately , thats the main way that people are educating themselves and this is also the main source of misinformation and confusion in science.

    Posted by "Jad Imad"

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  3. Its crazy to think that organizations go out of their way to create videos, articles, and even full web pages to promote and spread news that is fake! If they put the same time and effort into spreading actual news I'm sure the benefits would be far greater for everyone. The worst part is that people believe this kind of news and it continues to spread!

    Posted by: Katarzyna Mosio

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  4. This video was made 8 years ago and it looks pretty legit. If I knew absolutely nothing about penguins, I would've probably believed it. It's scary to think about how advanced these editing softwares have become. Pictures and videos can be completely edited to complement fake news stories in a way that the normal viewer would have no idea.

    -Matt Murdoch

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    1. I thought that was interesting yet alarming as well. The video was very well made by even today's standards. Can you imagine what could be created today? I think it's sad that people's talents and the incredible technology that we have available to use are being used to promote fake news.

      Posted by Jamie Downer

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  5. I am always skeptical when it comes to images posted online; nowadays, it is so easy to change an image, or video, to an imaginary being. Most common, it is used to commit a farce. It is disappointing that the BBC went so far as to have a click bait title and a fake video to go with it.
    -Rachel Klett

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  6. I also am in shock as to the lengths that the BBC went to create this fake bit of news and am curious as to why this was necessary as someone stated above. Do you think that there should be new regulations on how and what people are able to post online, specifically when it comes to advances in science or newfound research? And if so, how could they possibly regulate this news in a way that will promote better, more valid news?

    Posted by Lauren Hiller

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    1. I was a little confused as well when I saw the amount of effort BBC put into this fake story, but I believe it was in efforts to promote their campaign "don't miss the unmissable." When it comes to regulating what people are posting on the internet, it becomes difficult as technically that would be inhibiting people's right to free speech. I don't know how logistical and how legal it would be to place limitations on what can be shared online.

      Posted by Jamie Downer

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  7. I remember that I watched this video a couple of years ago. The video looked like a real record for me at that time... But now, I do not believe it for sure. Penguins have special body shapes that help them swim, but cannot help them fly. Their wings have evolve for propulsion under water, and they also gain a large amount of fat to defense cold weather in their habitats. The video is interesting if you have some basic knowledge about penguins, because you know it is fake. But it may give children some wrong information about penguins.

    Replied by Muchen Liu

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  8. Wow, that did look pretty real. It's surprising it came from a reputable source like BBC. It is so unfortunate how companies use misinformation to advertise and capture their audience. Although to some it may seem obvious that it is fake, I'm sure there are so many people out there who believed this and are passing it on to others. The internet can be harmful sometimes!

    Posted by Alexandra Rios

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  9. That did look pretty real - it is quite impressive how people can edit things to make them look as if it was shot in real life. You can never tell anymore if something that's filmed was edited or not, because some people just want more views, they want their news to be published, because they know that repeating the same old news wouldn't get any attention. In a way, this is similar to how sometimes famous people may act out for attention or have set ups so that they can be photographed and written about.

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