Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentary

Posted on August 7, 2014 By David Shiffman 3 Comments on Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentary
Blogging, Popular Culture, Science

So was last year’s “Megalodon: the monster shark lives.”  Both Shark Week specials claim to show evidence that Carcharocles megalodon, the largest predatory shark that ever lived, is still alive. In both cases, the evidence is 100% completely and totally fake.

disclaimer

A disclaimer from “the monster shark lives”

Video evidence is CGI, images are photoshopped, and performances by actors claiming to be scientists and people who have seen a megalodon.  There is no marine biologist named Collin Drake, he is a fictional character played by an actor. The boat that a megalodon supposedly ate in South Africa did not ever exist. There is no doubt whatsoever among scientists that megalodon is extinct and has been for millions of years.

The documentary was debunked by fact-checking site Snopes, and criticized by CNN (an interview with me),  Forbes magazine,   and even the Daily Show. Hundreds of other news articles* all tell the same story. Megalodon is extinct, and Shark Week made up evidence to the contrary for ratings. Worst of all, they have actively bragged about fooling people.


*A sampling of some of the many other articles criticizing Shark Week and the Discovery Channel for airing a fake documentary include Time Magazine, USA Today, National Geographic, the Huffington Post, Gawker  Business Insider, the International Business Times, Discover Magazine, the Oregonian, the Examiner, Entertainment Weekly, the Mary Sue, the Inquisitr, and US Weekly. Depending on your political leanings, you can even get the same story from Fox News, Brietbart, and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze. Even the Wikipedia article notes that it is completely fictional.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: discovery channel is megalodon extinct is megalodon real is megalodon still alive megalodon the monster shark lives megalodon the new evidence shark week

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: The Dark Side of Academia
Next Post: Fin-Body Ratios for Smooth Dogfish – Depends on How You Slice It ❯

You may also like

Blogging
Shark Week 2014: documentary reviews, tweets, and media coverage
August 26, 2014
Blogging
Does Shark Week portrayal of sharks matter?
June 29, 2015
Popular Culture
Shark Week 2018 overall thoughts and episode reviews
August 15, 2018
Conservation
Shark Celebrity Auction
August 2, 2010

3 thoughts on “Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentary”

  1. Steve Larson says:
    August 8, 2014 at 4:13 pm

    For me personally, Discovery completely discredited itself after last year’s airing and I did not even know that they made another “documentary” about the megalodon until I’ve read about it here.
    Megalodon “sightings” are unreal and sensationalized. Even a website that deals only with the megalodon – http://www.themegalodon.com/ – talks about it in the past tense. I don’t think there is any room for debate whether megalodons still roam our oceans or not.

    But the bigger issue I have is in regards to the new sensationalized stance Discovery takes with its documentaries and shows in general. I grew up with their shows that helped me immensely to develop my critical thinking and to a certain extent scientific method. I wonder what skills the young people who watch Discovery today will develop.

  2. Yousuf Khan (@ykhan67) says:
    August 16, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    The Canadian version of The Discovery Channel had disclaimers just after every commercial break, saying that this was just a work of fiction. I don’t know why the American version was so deceptive, maybe the laws governing TV between the two countries are different?

  3. Tino de Jager says:
    August 31, 2014 at 5:54 pm

    This just confirms that you should not believe everything you see on television. I watched Megalodon: The new evidence on shark week today and it is complete rubbish. I am a South African and they did not even get the minister of environmental affairs right. Very disappointed in Discovery channel for broadcasting such absurdity!

Comments are closed.

Recent Popular Posts

The story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageThe story of the pride flag made from NASA imagery: Bluesky's most-liked imageSeptember 27, 2024David Shiffman
Marine Biology Career AdviceMarine Biology Career AdviceMay 30, 2025David Shiffman
UN Ocean Conference Manu ChampionshipUN Ocean Conference Manu ChampionshipJune 5, 2025Angelo Villagomez
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.June 21, 2021Andrew Thaler
Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)September 7, 2010Andrew Thaler
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
What is a Sand Shark?What is a Sand Shark?November 12, 2017Chuck Bangley
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryMegalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryAugust 7, 2014David Shiffman
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown