[FALSE] "dog saved infant koala in the fires"
The original site is no longer online; links go to the Internet Archive copy.
What the fact-checkers found
From freezing, NOT from the fire. Happened in 2018, unrelated to current Australia’s bushfires.
More @ EXPLANATION and REFERENCE section.
Where it circulated
http://bit.ly/2FrnbOV / http://archive.md/mP3xa (backup archive), “Chris Perry” (facebook.com/TheRealChrisPerry) account. Shared 16,577 times per screenshot was made.
NARRATIVE
“A husband and wife in Australia opened their door to this sight. The family dog showed up with an infant koala on it’s back, that was saved in the fires. The look in their eyes tells the story. 😭🙌❤️
“My husband called me to the door. I didn’t know what he was talking about at first but then I saw this tiny koala snuggled on top of Asha.” There are humans and animals throughout Australia working to rescue animals. The stories are amazing coming from sites like “Animals Make Life Better” where this story was told, including the story of one family who has saved almost one million animals throughout the Australia Zoo. ❤️”
EXPLANATION
(1) http://bit.ly/2qYG8Rs, First Draft News: “FALSE CONTEXT
When genuine content is shared with false contextual information”
* The SOURCE shared photo of Asha, Kerry McKinnon’s golden retriever, who’s been keeping a baby koala warm during cold night.
* The SOURCE added false narrative of shared photos which has caused false conclusion. The occurrence was in 2018, unrelated to current Australia’s bushfires.
(2) news.com.au @ September 28, 2018: “Proud dog owner Kerry McKinnon got the shock of her life after discovering the tiny koala joey snuggled up with her five-year-old golden retriever Asha earlier this week.
The 45-year-old from Strathdownie in western Victoria said the koala likely became separated from its mother during the night and wandered onto her back porch, finding comfort in Asha’s warm fur.
With temperatures in the area plummeting to 5C in the early hours, Kerry said that the helpless koala “never would have made it through the night” if it hadn’t been cuddled up to Asha.”
More @ http://bit.ly/39PIqYw / http://archive.md/qmrkz (backup archive).
(3) About the current condition of Australia’s bushfires, CNN: “Blood-red skies loom over southeast Australia after deadly bushfires bring ‘one of worst days ever’”.
More @ https://cnn.it/36sGt2p / http://archive.md/sm245 (backup archive).
REFERENCE
* AFP: “These photos have circulated in reports since September 2018, one year before the 2019 Australian bushfires began”
More @ http://bit.ly/2QuVF9E / http://archive.md/7RuJl (backup archive).
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