Great white shark lunges at veteran who reached to pet it from a Georgia fishing boat
A video from Knot Lucky Fishing shows a great white shark lunging at a woman who reached out to pet it during a tagging trip off Tybee Island, Georgia. The charity's founder says she was never in real danger.
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The story, neutrally told
Right · 2A video shows a great white shark thrashing and lunging at a woman who reached off a fishing boat to pet it. New York PostR “A woman had a close call with a great white shark when she reached off a fishing boat to pet the marine apex, leading the shark to thrash around and lunge.” Read at New York Post ↗ GB NewsR “A gobsmacking video showing a great white shark lunging at a woman who was leaning down to pet the apex predator has gone viral.” Read at GB News ↗ Right · 2The footage was circulated by Knot Lucky Fishing, a Savannah, Georgia-based organisation that takes veterans, active-duty service members and their families on free fishing trips. GB News describes it as a charity that supports veterans with PTSD. New York PostR “The organization is based in Savannah, Georgia and takes veterans, active duty service members and their families on free fishing trips.” Read at New York Post ↗ GB NewsR “a Georgia-based charity which works to support veterans suffering from PTSD as well as active-duty servicemen” Read at GB News ↗ Right · 2In a Facebook post, the organisation said that one of its veterans, named Jen, laid her hand on the wild shark "like it's the family dog" before the shark whipped around and lunged toward her. GB News reports that the shark missed her and hit the boat instead. New York PostR “One second Jen, one of our veterans, is laying her hand on a wild white shark like it’s the family dog, and the next second that shark whips around and lunges toward her” Read at New York Post ↗ GB NewsR “misses and hits the boat instead” Read at GB News ↗
Right · 2Founder Jimmy Armel said the woman was never in real danger because the crew had the shark under control the whole time. He said it never got close enough to do harm, and that the reaction was a reminder of what the animals are: "Beautiful. Powerful. Wild." New York PostR “the woman was never in any real danger because the crew had the shark under control the whole time” Read at New York Post ↗ GB NewsR “it never got close enough to do any harm.” Read at GB News ↗ Right · 1The trip was part of a white shark tagging programme off Tybee Island, run with Starbrite, Project SeaSafe and Gray FishTag Research, in which great whites are caught, tagged and released. Armel told FOX Weather each shark is named after a fallen Ranger or service member, and that ten have been tagged so far, with more expected this winter as the whites return to Tybee. New York PostR “The program deals with catching, tagging and releasing great white sharks off Tybee Island.”“We’ve tagged ten so far, and with the whites heading back to Tybee now, more are coming this winter.” Read at New York Post ↗ Right · 2The shark in the video was not tagged because of safety concerns for the crew and the shark. The organisation said it let the shark go. New York PostR “The shark in the video, however, was unable to be tagged due to safety concerns for the crew and shark.” Read at New York Post ↗ GB NewsR “so we let that shark go to swim another day” Read at GB News ↗
Right · 1GB News adds background that great whites are highly migratory, making their numbers in any one place hard to pin down, and are more often seen along the US East Coast in winter and spring. It also notes that Ocearch tagged a 14-foot, 1,700lb great white named Contender in January, which vanished from tracking in April and reappeared in July. GB NewsR “Due to being a highly migratory animal, experts struggle with pinpointing the exact number of great white sharks in any specific location.”“The 14-foot great white - dubbed Contender - was first tagged by a team of scientists from Ocearch in January” Read at GB News ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets present a viral, startling wildlife video, leading with the woman's attempt to pet the shark and the shark's lunge, then relaying the organiser's reassurance that nobody was in danger.
- Emphasis
- The NY Post (copy credited to FOX Weather) centres on the organisation's statements and tagging programme; GB News adds the veterans' charity angle, Armel's call to respect the animals, and background on shark migration and Contender.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither outlet includes independent expert comment on the incident or on the risks of touching wild sharks. The account of the crew's control rests on the organiser alone.
- Charged language
- “gobsmacking”“shocking interaction”“ferociously”“close call”
- For example
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“A gobsmacking video showing a great white shark lunging at a woman who was leaning down to pet the apex predator has gone viral.” — GB News
“A woman had a close call with a great white shark” — New York Post
What every side reports
- A woman, a veteran named Jen, reached out to pet a wild great white shark from a fishing boat and the shark lunged at her.
- The video was circulated by Knot Lucky Fishing, a Georgia-based organisation for veterans and service members.
- Founder Jimmy Armel said she was never in real danger because the crew had the shark under control.
- The shark was not tagged and was released.
Great white sharks topic
Described as wild, powerful animals that deserve respect; the shark's reaction is presented as a reminder of that, and great whites are noted as highly migratory seasonal visitors to the East Coast.
“But that reaction right there is a reminder of exactly what these animals are.” — GB News
“Due to being a highly migratory animal, experts struggle with pinpointing the exact number of great white sharks in any specific location.” — GB News
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right2 articles
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Great white shark thrashes, lunges at woman after she reaches out to pet the marine apex predator
Neutral Short report, credited to FOX Weather, that relays the organiser's Facebook post and quotes while describing the lunge as a close call.
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GB NewsR ·
Great white shark lunges at woman leaning down to pet apex predator in shocking interaction
Alarmist Dramatises the lunge as shocking and ferocious while including the founder's assurance of no danger, and adds shark-migration background.
- 28 Oct 06:43 First New York PostR Great white shark thrashes, lunges at woman after she reaches out to pet the marine apex predator
- 28 Oct 21:09 +14h 26m GB NewsR Great white shark lunges at woman leaning down to pet apex predator in shocking interaction
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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