TPWD Wants People to Know the Viral Photo of a Shark in a Texas Lake is Fake

If breakingnews247.net doesn’t sound like a credible news source, that’s because it isn’t. This fabricated news website doesn’t cover up that the posts on their website are meant to be funny. In fact, when you visit the homepage, there’s a way to upload your own story. “Write an article and prank your friends for fun,” the website reads. But, many Facebook users don’t take the time to check their sources. They hit “share” too quickly, and the content goes viral.

In an article titled “Fresh water shark caught in Lake Brownwood,” local fisherman Ima Lion (AKA “I’m lying”) says he caught a 74-pound freshwater shark and that it wasn’t deemed safe to return to Lake Brownwood until officials checked it out.

The accompanying picture (seen here) was probably enough for many people to click “share,” so the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has made its own post debunking the story that was meant to be a joke. “Don’t believe this tall tale. While some Texas sharks can make their way inland, they can’t make it to Lake Brownwood,” they wrote on Facebook. Lake Brownwood State Park added their own cry for clarity, “NO SHARKS IN LAKE BROWNWOOD!!!! Not now, not before, not ever. The story is Fake!”

MySA.com says that TPWD has received plenty of calls wondering if the tale is real. Hopefully, people will take notice and realize it was all meant for a laugh.