A fake news story about a local lake has gotten over 70,000 shares.
The story comes from breakingnews365.net, a site created for the purpose of pranking your friends with stories that aren’t real.
The tall tale being circulated on Facebook claims a bull shark was caught on Lake Tippecanoe. It warns to “watch children swimming off the shoreline with extra caution as the Fourth of July festivities will make it prime hunting for sharks.”
The Department of Natural Resources confirms the story is not valid. Conservation Officer Jonathan Boyd tells News Now Warsaw that no Indiana waters can sustain sharks.
“There’s a lot of ‘bull’ in the bull shark story,” says Boyd.
The DNR District 1 office received several calls last night and today from people concerned about the bogus shark story.
The website which originally posted the story has the following disclaimer:
“This website is an entertainment website, news are created by users. These are humourous news, fantasy, fictional, that should not be seriously taken or as a source of information.”
Conservation Officer Boyd says we don’t need to worry about sharks in our lakes, but we do need to worry about wearing a life jacket.
He says it’s peak drowning season and urges lake-goers to wear certified personal floatation devices.
