Giant Skeleton Hoax

Summary:

Emails with attached images supposedly depicting the skeletal remains of gigantic humans claim that the skeletons were unearthed in the Arabian or Indian deserts (Full commentary below.)

Status:

False

Example 1:(Submitted, July 2004)

Example 2:(Submitted, July 2007)

Commentary:

This classic leg-pull has now been circulating via email, blogs and forums for several years and has even been published by some news outlets as factual. In fact, the “giant skeleton” images that travel with these messages are not photographs depicting real discoveries but instead clever manipulations. A lot of recipients would be quick to doubt the authenticity of the images. However, submissions indicate that the high quality of the fake images coupled with the vaguely plausible explanations that accompany them are apparently enough to convince many recipients that the “discoveries” are genuine.


So far, there have been two popular variants of the hoax. The first variant (Example 1 above) claims that a skeleton of a gigantic human was discovered during a gas exploration in the south east region of the Arabian desert and sports an attached photograph to “prove” the claim. However, the cleverly created image of the giant skeleton is actually an entry in an image manipulation contest by artist “IronKite” in which participants were instructed to create “a picture of an archaeological discovery that looks so real, had it not appeared at Worth1000, people might have done a double take”.


The message tries to add legitimacy to its fanciful tale by referencing the Quran’s Prophet Hud and the people of Aad (or “Ad”). Some Islamic references do claim that the people of Aad were thought to be giants. However, other material describes them as having a “stature tall among the nations” or as simply being “physically well-built”. The Christian Bible also makes mention of giants.


The second variant (Example 2 above) moves the “action” to the Indian desert and replaces the Islamic references with mentions of characters in Indian mythology, including Brahma and Bhima’s son. According to Indian legend, Bhima’s son Ghatotkacha was a powerful fighter with magical abilities, although he is not generally described as a giant. Other than the change in mythological references, much of the wording in the two hoax variants is virtually identical.


The Indian based variant includes IronKite’s image along with three other giant skeleton pictures that also originate from the same Worth1000 contest. The second picture in the set, complete with giant revolver, is titled everlasting rest and was created by amaranto. The third image is an entry simply named Giant Skeleton and was created by Anakinnnn. And the fourth image in the set is named Uncovered Giant and was created by Trit.


The hoax was apparently republished by several media outlets in Indian, Bangladesh and elsewhere. A scan of one of these newspaper articles is included in one version of the hoax email. Such articles have given the hoax undeserved credibility.


IronKite’s creation has even been featured in a YouTube video entitled “Proof evolution is an evil lie from satan (the devil)”. The video’s creator uses IronKite’s giant skeleton, along with other dubious images, as “proof” that giants once lived on Earth. The inclusion of a well-documented hoax image, in addition to a number of logical flaws, seriously undermines the video maker’s credibility and has earned him the ridicule of his fellow YouTubers.


The image and “Arabian desert discovery” description is also included in another fanciful YouTube video warning of impending disaster for Earth. Again, the blatant use of a well-known hoax as “proof” decimates what little credibility the video had to begin with.


Even if you do believe that a race of giants once walked the Earth, you can rest assured that these photographs do not depict some of their remains. In their original context as part of a Worth1000 contest, the status of the images as purely fictional “archaeological discoveries” is quite clear. Apparently, however, some unknown prankster stole IronKite’s image from its original setting, added some seemingly relevant text, and sent it on its way. Perhaps due largely to the talent of its creator, the image has circulated ever since. In due course, others have apparently added more Worth1000 images to the hoax messages.www.hoax-slayer.com