Strange Alien Found in Madeira river of Brazil, Video: Fact Check

Story:

Strange Alien Found in Madeira River, the biggest tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil on 22/01, 2019.

Other Versions

(Spanish)
Extraño #pez (Un Alien?), encontrado en el río #Madeira, principal afluente del amazonas en #Brasil ?? 22/01

Fact Check:

A scary video is shared widely on social media sites claiming to show a Strange Alien Found in Madeira river of Brazil on 22nd January 2019. The ‘alien creature’ with two eyes appears opening and closing its fleshy, bloody body housing thorns inside. Because of the unusual appearance and behavior of the said creature, the video about Alien Found in Madeira River of Brazil went viral. Nonetheless, as explained below, the claims are baseless and not true.

Origin of Video

On 22nd January 2019, YouTube user Alerta Roja shared the short footage with Spanish title “Pez Alien Madeira Brasil“. The same day Alerta Roja also shared the video on his Twitter account, where it garnered thousands of views and likes. Madeira River is indeed a major waterway in South America, the biggest tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil. The next day Rodrigo Contreras Lopez shared the video on Facebook with same description, where again, it garnered thousands of likes and shares.

Extraño #pez (Un Alien?) , encontrado en el río #Madeira , principal afluente del amazonas en #Brasil ?? 22/01 #video pic.twitter.com/ZpVIwstgfp

— Alerta Roja (@alertarojanot) January 22, 2019

Many viewers wondered about the unusual creature in video. Some mentioned it is some kind of strange fish. They also suggested it is trying to breathe and should be left back in water.

Not Alien Found in Madeira River

Alerta Roja, in Spanish, means Red alert. The Twitter description of the user mentions about global climate change and alternative journalism on it. In contrast to the claims, we did not find any credible report on such Alien found in Madeira river of Brazil. When we tried to trace back information on the video, we found Facebook page ‘Animatronique effets spéciaux‘ shared it earlier on 16th Jan. 2019.

What you see in the video is in fact a work of “Animatronics special effects” for films. The video shared on Facebook actually shows a Quick test of the ‘alien making’ before shooting. At the end of the video above, you can also see how the replica of an alien head is used in filmmaking. Earlier, on 9th January, the Facebook page shared few pictures of making the alien head.

To conclude, the claim that the video shows a strange Alien found in Madeira river of Brazil is a hoax. For those unknown, Animatronics refers to the use of cable-pulled devices or motors to emulate a human or an animal. In the viral video, notice the wires connected behind and beside the ‘alien creature’. Animatronics incorporates lifelike characteristics to an otherwise inanimate object.