In yet another example of why you shouldn’t believe everything you read on social media, a viral picture of a cheetah-impala hunt has created a stir online. It’s not really the picture itself but a version of it with a ‘supposed’ story behind it that’s causing all the uproar. The backstory attributed to the image even suggests the photographer went into depression after clicking the picture. The version has gone so viral, the actual photographer has shared a Facebook post to share her side of the story. And no, she’s not, nor was she ever, in depression. Actor Shahid Kapoor, who Instagrammed the incorrect version, is among those who fell for the hoax story.
In a post, shared some six hours before writing this, Shahid shared the picture, saying: “No man can match up to what a mother does. Women are superior to men in so many ways. Let’s learn to appreciate them. And learn to show them love. Every day.”
The picture has so far collected over 1.5 lakh ‘likes’ and hundreds of comments so far, many of which urge Shahid to read the real story behind the click. Shahid isn’t the only one who posted the picture. Several people have been sharing it on social media.
Turns out the impala in the picture wasn’t a mother who surrendered herself for her kids. This is what actually happened.
Photographer Alison Buttigieg had clicked the picture back in September 2013 at the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. On her website, along with a sequence of pictures, Ms Buttigieg explains that it was a cheetah mom that was teaching her kids how to kill prey. She goes on to explain that cubs were playing with their prey but the impala stayed calm and poised through the ordeal. “In the end, after what seemed like an interminable eternity (but it was just a few minutes), the cheetah mom put the impala out of it’s (sic) misery, and the cats got to enjoy a nice meal,” Ms Buttigieg says on her website.
The story, especially the note about the photographer going into depression has caused much trouble for Ms Buttigieg.
“A highlight of my photography career has turned into a nightmare,” she says in a Facebook post, shared on February 13. Calling the hoax story as ‘sensationalism at its best’, Ms Buttigieg says she’s been “inundated by hundreds and hundreds of messages asking me whether I am the ‘depressed photographer’.”
“What a vile world we live in, full of stupid gullible people spreading fake news like crazy,” she adds in her post.
Her post has since collected over 2,000 reactions and more than 1,800 shares on Facebook.
“Seriously, I would file a criminal record for libel, copyright infringement and a court order to remove the post from FB and LinkedIn. Makes me sad and angry at the same time that you have to go through this!” says one commenter on Facebook. “Thank you for the amazing pictures and the clarification… Some people…. Never learn…” says another.
Credit: NDTV
