Did Eastern Kentucky Bigfoot Sighting Shut Down Roads and Prompt an Investigation?
Is Bigfoot Real?
When it comes to Bigfoot sightings, I'll be the first one to get excited and want to go in search of the great furry mystery. If I see a post on social media, I go right to the source and want to know more.
Once, one of my high school friends posted a photo of something he saw while on a run. It looked like a silhouette of Bigfoot in a field. From the text in the post, I couldn't tell if he was serious or joking. On closer inspection, I could see it was only a huge wooden cutout Bigfoot, and nothing more. I imagined it was funny for passersby, like my friend. From far away, the cut-out looked pretty real.
I noticed that his post had been shared many times. But by the looks of some of the comments, they thought his 'sighting' was a real one. It's hard telling just how far his intended tongue-in-cheek post traveled on social media.
I Know You're Not Going to Believe this BUT... Not Everything You See on the Internet is Real
Similarly, this is what happened with this post from the Facebook page, The Georgetown Insider. A friend, knowing my love of Bigfoot sightings, took a screenshot of the wording in the 'community alert.'
Here is the text from the post.
GEORGETOWN - The Scott County Sheriff's Department has shut down all traffic going in and out of Burton Pike in response to a Bigfoot sighting this afternoon.Ashley Stephens Hibbard of Georgetown was gathering acorns today on her Burton Pike property when she spotted the mythical beast at the top of a hill. "I was frozen in fear because I knew that it was a Sasquatch," said Hibbard, still noticeably shaken from the incident. "I took a quick picture of it with my cellphone and then I ran back inside my house to call the Sheriff's department."
Deputies, working in conjunction with both Animal Control and the Scott County Humane Society, responded within minutes of Hibbard's call. "We had a couple units in the area," said Sheriff Tony Hampton. "We get a lot of Bigfoot calls this time of year because the creatures are very active in cold winter months."
Hibbard's cellphone was seized by Deputies so they could conduct a forensic analysis of her photograph. "My hunch is that it's your typical midwestern American Bigfoot," says Sheriff Hampton. "I'm not prepared to rule out the possibility that it's a Chupacabra, which are very migratory this time of year."
"I moved to the country so I could be safe," said a tearful Hibbard, "but I've already called my Realtor and told her that I'm moving back to the city!
This is a developing story.
If It Sounds Too Crazy to Be True - It Might Be Too Crazy to Be True
I thought, WOW, this is incredible. So, I went to the page to get more details. Once on the page, I discovered this in the About Section of the page.
This is a parody and satire publication. As much as we wish that these stories were true, they are not. Our full disclaimer can be found in each publication, as well as elsewhere on our site. Enjoy!
Ahhh skunked again. Upon further inspection, they have a habit of posting some (obviously) fake mythical creature sightings.
So, the post was only for fun, but it was shared almost 30K times. You can't blame those who shared. Unless you know to look for the fines details, you would miss the fact that this story is made up. The text and photos are really good. See the very convincing photos, HERE. They aren't great, but let's just say, I've seen worse photos that people believed were definite sightings.
It's funny I also assumed, like my friend, that it was Georgetown, KY, but when you look at the page, it never says where Georgetown is located. The Georgetown Insider is just a name.
Moral of the Story - Beware the Share
Just remember, before you share something you see on social media, do some research and read the fine print.
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