Rumor – A pet python kept by a family at home swallow a child in Vietnam
Analysis
Impressionable stories involving exotic animals and domestic accidents frequently reach a high volume of shares on the internet.
Now, a sequence of images has begun circulating on social media as if showing a child who was allegedly swallowed by a python kept as a family pet in Vietnam.
The publication combines a video in which a child appears near a snake with a subsequent photograph of a python with an apparently swollen body. The captions claim that the animal swallowed the child with whom it lived daily in the family environment. Read two versions of the story:
Version 1: In Vietnam, it was discovered that a family’s pet python swallowed a child from the family that raised it at home. Version 2: Vietnam, the python that brainless people kept at home swallowed the child.
Fact-Check
To verify the story, we analyzed the origin of the video, the location of the images, and the relationship between the child and the snake, answering the following questions: 1) Did a pet python kept by a family at home swallow a child in Vietnam? 2) How were the images in the story claiming that a pet python swallowed a child made? 3) Are there similar fake news stories like this one?
Did a pet python kept by a family at home swallow a child in Vietnam?
No attack or swallowing of a child by a python occurred in the case shown. The posts mix old recordings and out-of-context records to create a sensationalist story that does not correspond to reality.
The video of the child playing with the reptile depicts a domestic coexistence documented years ago in Asia, where the animal is kept peacefully. There are no reports in health authorities or the local press regarding lethal accidents involving this family.
How were the images in the story claiming that a pet python swallowed a child made?
The narrative was constructed by joining two unrelated media sources. The original video of the child interacting with the python belongs to the archive of content creator Abdul Azis Albar, published on his social media pages, showing that the family’s routine continues without incident.
Meanwhile, the image showing the snake with a swollen abdomen was extracted from a completely different context, likely depicting the animal after consuming large prey in the wild or in captivity. The combination of the two media files generated the false impression conveyed by the captions.
Are there similar fake news stories like this one?
Yes. Videos and images involving snakes are often used to create false or exaggerated stories on social media.
Fact-checkers have previously debunked a video presented as if showing a snake being sliced alive at an open-air market. Another analyzed video was attributed to a alleged giant anaconda staring down a woman on a boat.
Another case involved the claim that a video showed a snake meat factory in China. In situations like these, the origin of the images is crucial to determining whether what appears in the video corresponds to the accompanying caption.
Conclusion
The python shown in the video did not swallow the child, and the episode did not take place in Vietnam. The original recording was published by Abdul Azis Albar in Indonesia and shows a child living with a pet python. The image of the swollen snake was paired with the video to create a false sequence, but it does not represent an attack on the girl.
Fake news ❌
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