The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

Episode Notes for
Internet Video Hoaxes:
A Mammoth Undertaking

alleged woolly mammoth crossing a river

Lou Petho: his video was hijacked
by a mammoth hoax

Alan “Captain Disillusion” Melikdjanian

Did you see that popular Internet video that allegedly showed a mammoth crossing a river in Siberia? You probably figured it was a hoax—and we did too—but we decided to get to the bottom of the matter. Join us as we discuss the methods and motives for Internet hoax videos. This episode also includes interviews with documentary film maker Ludovic Petho and Alan Melikdjanian (aka Captain Disillusion). Was there really something fishy about that video? Listen to see if you can bear the truth!

Related Material

• The original Sun article
• Ben Radford’s deconstruction
• The Huffington Post’s deconstruction
• Blake Smith’s video analysis
• The green screen stock elephant video that Alan describes in his interview.

Music

• Intro Music: sample from Wooly Bully by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
• Monstertalk Theme: Monster by Peach Stealing Monkeys

The views expressed on this program are not necessarily the views of the Skeptics Society or Skeptic magazine.