Fake News: Multimodal Writing Assignment: Why Dinosaurs Aren’t In Zoos
Daniel Kauwell
Professor Horn
ENC 1102–819
10, March 2021
In the spring of 2014, a website known for promoting fake news stories called NewsHound posted the captivating news story shown above. Contained within was the brazen claim that scientists in Britain cloned a dinosaur by removing DNA from preserved Apatosaurus fossils then introducing it into the womb of an ostrich(Mikkelson). The website also touted a picture of a baby animal that is difficult to identify and was mistaken by some readers as a baby dinosaur. Rest assured this was nothing like Jurassic Park; this was a case of mistaken identity and a website spreading fake news to mislead individuals.
Later, in 2015, a site called LinkBeef replicated the story with only one small difference: Instead of the University of John Moore, this article purported that scientists at Sooam Biotech Research facility had done the deed this time (Mikkelson). However, no other reports of validating information ever became available. By only making the briefest of searches on the internet, fact-checkers can find loads of websites that are poised to disprove this story. The fact-checking website called Snopes deduced that the unidentifiable baby animal in the picture was actually a “baby kangaroo and had been originally posted by an Australian community group” (Mikkelson). The group used the photo in an article about saving macropods, and the picture was then taken and used for nefarious purposes. Researchers can also find websites that seem reputable, even some ending in .org, that still promote the story (Sharo).
This hoax was well-done because it had a pre-existing schema in the brain to build on. Many people have seen Jurassic Park, and many more are familiar with the process used in Jurassic Park. Dr. Susie Maidment, a dinosaur researcher at the National History Museum, provided a glimpse into the feasibility of cloning a dinosaur. Dr. Maidment disregarded amber as a potential form of preserving dinosaur DNA because, while amber did preserve some materials, it typically only kept the outer shell and not the fluids inside (Osterloff). This did not mean that the idea of finding dinosaur DNA was far-fetched. In fact, in 2015, Dr. Maidment and her colleagues found what they perceived as blood cells inside a Cretaceous dinosaur fossil (Osterloff). Unfortunately, finding blood did not necessarily mean finding DNA because DNA breaks down quickly and is very vulnerable to external conditions. So far, the oldest DNA ever found is around one million years old, but to find dinosaur DNA capable of being replicated, DNA approximately sixty-six times older would be required(Osterloff).
This hoax was an image of a baby kangaroo that had a case of mistaken identity along with a captivating yet untrue title. Misinformation, both intentional and unintentional, has grown exponentially with the rise of modern forms of media. The issue fake news is one that will always require a vigorous lookout, else readers may be easily misled. A wise way to see through these would-be news stories is to check the sources for any form of media regardless of how seemingly trustworthy the website may appear.
Work Cited
Mikkelson, David. “British Scientists Clone Dinosaur” Snopes. 21 January 2016. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dino-might/ Accessed 2 March 2021.
Osterloff, Emily “Could scientists bring dinosaurs back to life?” National History Museum. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/could-scientists-bring-dinosaurs-back.html Accessed 3 March 2021.
Sharo, Ken. “British Scientists Clone Dinosaur” NEW ANTI-RESISTANCE RESISTANCE. 30 March 2014. https://www.nuovaresistenza.org/2014/03/british-scientists-clone-dinosaur-news-hound/ Accessed 3 March 2021.
Kharel, Gopi. “British Scientists Cloned Dinosaur to Make Jurassic Park Reality? Hoax Goes Viral Ahead of April Fool’s Day 2014” International Business Times. 31 March 2014. https://www.ibtimes.co.in/british-scientists-cloned-dinosaur-to-make-jurassic-park-reality-hoax-goes-viral-ahead-of-april-fools-day-2014-545907 Accessed 2 March 2021.
