The great tortoise hoax
False reports of the death of the world’s oldest living land animal reminds us how quickly misinformation can spread.
We live in an age of fake news. The scourge of online misinformation, combined with a media class that prioritises ideological narratives over the truth, means that most of us now routinely check multiple accounts of the same event to cobble together the reality behind the agenda. But yesterday the phenomenon of fake news hit a new low. For it was widely reported that Jonathan the tortoise had died.
Jonathan is the world’s oldest living land animal. He is at least 193 years old, and could well be over 200. He met King George VI and Elizabeth before she was queen (see image below). When he was hatched, the British empire was entering its period of global dominance. There was no electric lighting, no telephones, no radio. He is a creature of a different universe. And yes, he is still alive.
We should have expected that this was an April Fool’s stunt, but of course these annual pranks are typically more light-hearted and less cruel in nature. In reality, the false reports of Jonathan’s death were the results of a scam by an online account soliciting crypto donations. The culprit had pretended to be Joe Hollins, the senior vet on the island of St Helena – Jonathan’s home – and had posted an announcement of his death on X.
The hoax served no satirical purpose, but was rather a cynical effort at making money. But what does it say about our current media landscape that major international media outlets repeated the lie? The X post itself was viewed over a million times, but that in itself is no guarantee of authenticity. And yet the BBC, USA Today, the Daily Mail and many more reported it as fact.
All of which is a reminder that in the digital age we all need to keep our antennae pricked permanently for frauds. Moreover, this is precisely the kind of climate in which conspiracy theorists and smear-merchants are able to thrive. The old adage has never been more pertinent: ‘A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes’. That line is usually attributed to Mark Twain, but I’m afraid that’s probably fake news too.
However, while many thousands of people around the world were devastated at the news of Jonathan’s death, they can at least now bask in the collective relief that he is still with us. And this gives me a good opportunity to reshare my interview with Jonathan – and his good friend Joe Hollins – which I recorded during a visit to St Helena two years ago (see clip below).
As Joe pointed out to me, Jonathan is ‘quasi-immortal’ and has shown signs of regeneration. So with any luck he’ll still be plodding on long after the rest of us have taken our final leave.
At least the BBC and most other outlets have now corrected the story. As of 09.20 this morning, the original Mail report that Jonathan has died is still up.
I can understand how people online were taken in by this but I find it astonishing that mainstream media outlets would post a story like this on the basis of a single X post with no other verification. If you took a look at the X account, it wasn't difficult to work out that it was clearly dodgy. Whatever happened to proper journalism and checking sources?
I remember seeing this interview on GBNews and it's good to be able to see it again. It's a shame about the circumstances. The BBC has gone from sharing 'news' from a genocidal terrorist group all around the world as if it were true - with genuine, serious geo-political repercussions - to spreading the word of a conman. Next, Comic Relief will be hosted by a Nigerian prince. How low the mighty have fallen. Esther Rantzen would be turning in her grave (if she wasn't very much still alive, as well).