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FACT BRIEF

Did a great white shark try to attack a parasailer?

By Kaiyah Clarke
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NO

A picture seeming to show a great white shark coming up out of the water as a parasailer dangles a few feet overhead is actually two separate photos digitally manipulated into one.

The original photo of the shark leaping out of the water was taken from an article that also includes the Instagram account "belonging" to the shark. Also, the original photo of the shark reveals that it was trying to make a meal out of a seal pup -- not a human.

The shark photo was published in an article by Q'Pasa, a digital media blog based in Canada.

The article, translated into English, says: "This great white shark is called Brunswick and since February it has been tracked with a satellite chip ... this has been the first time a great white shark has been seen this close to Quebec."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Q'Pasa Great white shark spotted in Quebec waters
Instagram Brunswick the Shark Instagram account
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.