Claim:

A video shared on social media in mid-October 2024 authentically showed “the biggest turtle in the world” dragging itself along a beach.

Rating:

Context:

The video authentically showed a leatherback turtle, the largest species in the world. However, the image was recorded at a low angle, making the reptile appear larger than it actually was. This is a photography trick known as forced perspective.

Images shared with X on October 14, 2024, seemed to show (archive) a large turtle gliding on a sandy beach to the great astonishment of onlookers. Compared to the people in the background, the turtle looked massive – perhaps explaining the 1.2 million views the video had racked up as of this writing.

According to Google’s translation tool, the caption, written in Thai, read: “This is the largest turtle in the world. It is a turtle that has neither scales nor shell. I wish you a safe journey! !!”

In short, the video itself was authentic and shows the largest known species of turtle in the world, which is why we considered this claim to be true. However, the images were captured from a low angle, making the animal appear larger than it actually is thanks to a photography trick known as forced perspective.

There is no indication that the images were generated using artificial intelligence software. Similarly, Hive Moderation, a website with an AI detection tool, said there was virtually no possibility that the video contained AI-generated content or a deepfake.

(AI-generated content detection with Hive moderation)

The clip seemed be posted first by an Instagram page called @karibinyaralas on April 20, 2024.

This caption, partly in Hungarian, read: “Nature is the greatest wonder! It’s time to take care of it!!!” The post also included a credit to another Instagram user, @mikesudi16, who also shared the images on Instagram nine days later. Sudi commented that the recording was captured on the beach in Macau, Dominican Republic.

Karen Bairdadvise on threatened and migratory species for conservation group South Pacific Regional Environmental Programidentified the turtle in the video as a leatherback turtle.

According to the National Park Service and the National Ocean ServiceLeatherback turtles are the largest species of sea turtle living today, with adults measuring over 6 feet long and weighing over 2,000 pounds – an impressive size considering their diet consists primarily of sea jellies and other soft-bodied marine animals.

https://www.instagram.com/karibinyaralas/reel/C5-EZt3of2I/

However, the size of the turtle in the video is disproportionate to the rest of the image due to a misleading photography trick known as forced perspective. The concept is at the origin of many widely shared photographs whose subjects seem too vast to be true, coming from a “monster frog“to a seemingly huge bear – and yes, another video of a leatherback turtle.

Like Snopes previously reportedforced perspective can:

Addressing this problem, Baird said that “the perspective was enhanced by the cameraman’s position with the turtle in the foreground and the people behind”.

As shown in the 23-second clip, the turtle is seen moving across the sand in the foreground of the video image, with a crowd of onlookers standing behind the animal. This placement of objects in the foreground and background changes the size scale to make the leatherback turtle appear much larger than humans.

For example, at 18 seconds into the clip, a person is seen moving closer to the creature, showing how the perspective of the turtle’s size can be altered depending on the objects around it.

(X/@TarotYouuuu)

Despite its massive size, the leatherback sea turtle, a federally endangered species, is a “gentle” giant of the sea. These turtles can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and nest in tropical latitudes around the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The leatherback turtle gets its name from its unique, leathery-looking shell. The shell is composed of “a layer of thin, hard, rubbery skin, reinforced by thousands of tiny bony plates,” Sea turtle conservation said. It is the only sea turtle that it lacks a hard shell.

Snopes has debunked other widely shared images whose subjects were accentuated by forced perspective, including the eerie look “hammer bat” and a photo of the abnormally small Former US President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter seated next to President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

Sources:

Christi, Mailing Address: PO Box 181300 Corpus and TX 78480 Phone: 949-8068 Malaquite Welcome Center Information Line Contact Us. Leatherback turtle – Padre Island National Seashore (US National Park Service). https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/leatherback.htm. Accessed October 30, 2024.

Dapcevich, Madison. “The photo shows the actual size of the bear’s paw compared to the human’s?” Snopes, September 16, 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/bear-paw-size-photo-human/.

Evon, Dan. “Does this video show an abnormally large leatherback turtle? » Snopes, August 15, 2018, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/large-leatherback-turtle-video/.

Evon, Dan. “Is this “bullfrog monster” real? » Snopes, May 26, 2017, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/monster-bullfrog/.

—. “Is the hammerhead bat a real animal?” Snopes, July 30, 2018, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/hammerhead-bat/.

—. “Why do the Bidens look giant in the photo with the Carters?” Snopes, May 4, 2021, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/bidens-photo-carters/.

Forced Perspective Articles | Snopes.Com. https://www.snopes.com/tag/forced-perspective/. Accessed October 30, 2024.

Home | Pacific environment. https://www.sprep.org/. Accessed October 30, 2024.

Sea Turtle Information: Leatherback Turtle – Sea Turtle Conservancy. https://conserveturtles.org/information-about-sea-turtles-leatherback-sea-turtle/. Accessed October 30, 2024.

Karen Baird | Pacific environment. https://www.sprep.org/team-member/strategic-policy-and-technical-programmes/karen-baird. Accessed October 30, 2024.

karibinyaralas. “Nature is the greatest wonder! It’s time to take care of her!!!’ Instagram, April 20, 2024, https://www.instagram.com/karibinyaralas/reel/C5-EZt3of2I/.

“Leatherback turtle”. Fisheries.NOAA, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/leatherback-turtle.

mikesudi16. ‘Amazing!’ Instagram, April 29, 2024, https://www.instagram.com/bviral/reel/C6WZC9gO3KM/.

“What is the largest sea turtle?” » OceanService.NOAA, https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/leatherback.html.

Wrona, Alexander. “Examples of a deceptive photography trick: forced perspective.” Snopes, May 22, 2023, https://www.snopes.com//list/forced-perspective/.