Are Unknowingly supporting an Animal abuser?

FAKE VIDEOS OF ANIMAL RESCUE

You are scrolling through your social media and a video grabs your attention. A puppy or any

animal being strangled by an actual python video showing extreme animal rescues from scenarios which are so heartbreaking and awful until you know they are fake videos just created for money staged and edited with  thumbnails showing brutally harmed animals.

These types of videos on YouTube are talked about and exposed by youtubers such as Nick Crowley. Faking rescue operations but also harming these animals, these channels such as Km Animal  titled as “Boy rescue baby puppy was bitten by big dog”. This video showed clear signs of a puppy being stabbed by a knife and not a dog, after people started questioning in comments they uploaded a pre-recorded video to make people believe the puppy is alive.

These fake channels have a web of videos on the internet. If one video is reported or one of their channels is banned they start to upload it on other channels which they have with different names. A channel called Bato TV who showed rescue again and again of 3 similar cats was eventually caught up and got banned by YouTube, but there are at least 7 other channels associated with this channel and still uploading videos. Same goes for Puppy Love, Rescue in public, Pets Kitten and Animal life. 

Sadly these channels are not the only ones who do such fake setups to show animal rescues and link donation sites in description. They get a huge amount of subscribers and views that get manipulated with staged, edited and pre-recorded videos. These channels are from various parts of Asian countries but there is not much source present on it as these people don’t disclose their identity.

These viral videos where animals are drowned in Mentos and coke are absolutely heinous as they showcase catching these animals such as snakes, fish and rabbits which are already caught and are buried in a man-made hole, making them unable to breathe. These videos are inhumane and also spread this message to animal abusers that it's ok to harm animals as some people who catch onto it will try hurting more and more animals. People need to get aware about it and report these videos under YouTube violation policy. 

HOW THESE CHANNELS WORK

• The channel uploads often without being part of any organization such as within a two days gap and are individuals not an organization as no one can find injured animals so often in nature

• The cameraman always knows the location of the animal and will follow the rescuer. They often have a shocked face as if they are acting.

• Watch out for traps and tunnels which are definitely made by a person. If the rescuers appear to be struggling/tugging around/not knowing what to do, you may be watching a fake video.

• These people act as if they know what they are doing but they harm the animal one can't see any medical kits or a veterinarian.

• They don't have any authentic proof of being a rescuer such as a website or any credentials in description however you will find patron links easily in their description.

CONCLUSION

• These fake rescue channels when they get exposed will create a sense of mistrust among people who actually donate and want to save animal lives. 

• Eventually making it hard to collect donations and help for genuine animal rescue organizations. 

• The more viewers they get, the more money they will make. By interacting with such content, people are indirectly supporting the abuse of animals. 

• After all, if they gain from it in any way, they have no reason not to continue doing it. 

• So it’s really important to be open minded and doubt certain things in videos, try reaching out to these video creators and when you notice any type of animal abuse try reporting and complaining about it as soon as possible.