No, aFlorida manwasn't arrested last week after being found sunburned and disoriented on Sanibel Causeway claiming that he had been kidnapped by dolphins and forced to build an underwater city.
Shocking, I know, butthis viral storyis fake news. Don't take my word or that of anyone with a functional brain. TheLee County Sheriff's Office, not to say that they don't have functional brains, confirmed it never happened.
The viral post appears to have originated from a Facebook page calledThe Dude Humor Report, which has the following disclaimer: "This page features satire and parody stories that are exaggerated, developing fictional — created for entertainment purposes only."
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The post includes a mugshot with "Lee County Sheriff" on it, which is why they responded to it. The post said that, according to a police report, a 33-year-old man was found barefoot and severely sunburned.
He was wearing only swimming trunks and told deputies "he had been ‘taken against his will by a pod of dolphins 3 days ago’ and forced to work on what he called ‘an underwater construction project.’"
Now you can see why there was some confusion for those who didn’t notice the page's disclaimer or who saw the report being spread by other social media accounts, which also happened.
A dolphin kidnapping for an underwater construction project has Florida written all over it. If you're largely checked out and have given over all of your ability to think to the device in the palm of your hand.
Seriously, for anyone who thought this was an actual story, please hand over the keys to the internet. You cannot be trusted to navigate the online world.
Gulf Coast Newsreached out to the Lee County Sheriff's Office for confirmation of its ridiculousness, and it appears that there was enough of an interest that the sheriff's office decided to address it on Facebook.
Source: The Latest & Most Breaking News With OutKick
