Story:
Loggers Accidentally Cut Down World’s Oldest Tree in Amazon Forest.
Analysis:
A ‘tragic’ story that went viral online stated that loggers have accidentally cut down the World’s Oldest Tree in Amazon Forest. It is not a fact!
Origin
The story originated from a 6 December 2014 article on worldnewsdailyreport.com website. According to the ‘report’, a group of illegal loggers who were cutting down trees in the Matsés Indigenous Reserve on the Peruvian and Brazilian border have accidentally cut down what experts claimed to be the oldest living tree in the world. It is said that the giant Samauma tree standing close to 40 meters tall was estimated to be around 5800 years old and was regarded as a tree of spiritual and cultural significance.
Satire
The claims apart, the website World News Daily Report is merely a fake-news publication that comes up with many satirical and fictional stories, like for example, another hoax article from the same website claimed that a 200 million year old Dinosaur egg hatched in Berlin museum. The disclaimer information on their website also mentions about their satirical and fictional content. To make their story appear authentic, the article even mentions the criticism of a local researcher Anna Golding of the Rainforest Protection Coalition (RPC), which does not exist.
Pictures
The story on World News Daily Report comes with two pictures, one showing couple of loggers sawing a giant cut down tree, and another claiming to show a group of Native communities alarming local media outlets and conservation groups about the incident. The first picture, actually, shows Amazon rainforest clearance near Rio Branco city, Brazil, which happened few years back, while the second picture shows Amazon Indians protesting against the controversial Belo Monte Dam in Brazil in 2011.
Although the claim that loggers have accidentally cut down the world’s oldest tree in Amazon forest is a hoax that originated from a satirical publication, the Amazon rainforest is shrinking, as deforestation is a serious issue there and elsewhere in the world. The Samauma tree in Amazon forest (Eriodendron samauma, sometimes called the “Queen of the Forest”) mentioned in the article is a large, rainforest tree that can grow to be over 50 m tall. The pinkish-white soft-wood timber of this giant tree is being harvested to make inexpensive plywood.
Hoax or Fact:
Hoax.
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