Say It Ain’t So: Sydney Cliff Jumper Video of Great White Shark Encounter Is A Hoax
An insane video has been floating around YouTube of a cliff diver jumping from Manly Jump Rock in Sydney to the water below. Once he hits the water his friends frantically yell that a shark is approaching. The video, which was supposedly taken with a GoPro Camera, then shows what appears to be the man fighting off the shark. You can see the original video below:
Many tweeters expressed that they thought the video was most likely a hoax and gave a variety of opinions as to why:
Probably that great white shark vid is a hoax. The pacing of it is awfully snappy and ad-like
— UMO (@UMO) June 13, 2014
That Great White Shark video at Manly’s Jump Rock is definitely fake. C’mon. #hoax http://t.co/KkzmgOzDPM — Gareth (@zarbicore) June 11, 2014
Can anyone convince me the “man fights off Great White Shark” video is not a hoax? http://t.co/VHPervUr74 – Terry Tufferson step forward!
— David Clinch (@DavidClinchNews) June 12, 2014
Sadly I think the issue has finally been put to rest by The Count/a>. They have offered up some proof it was all one big hoax and the evidence is quite convincing.
If you slow the video down you will notice the shark’s location at the 0:59 mark:
Next look at the frame from the 1:00 mark:
Notice how the shark magically teleports across the screen? This is a pretty convincing sign that the video is sadly a hoax. However, that hasn’t stopped the views the video has received. To date, the video has received over 8.8 million views.
Furthering the evidence that this was an elaborate hoax, Daily Telegraph notes that the Great White Shark video is the only one uploaded to the YouTube channel.
Why would Terry Tufferson, the name on the YouTube account associated with the video, go through all the trouble to make the hoax video? Some are speculating that it is a marketing ploy to keep people from jumping off the dangerous rock. The Manly Council has placed fences around the rock to curb jumpers; however, many jumpers simply use the fence as a jumping point. This has led to a number of serious injuries leaving some to wonder if Terry Tufferson is just a clever way for the council to discourage jumpers from endangering themselves at the rock.
What do you think? Is this clever marketing ploy or well-played YouTube user hoax?
