As a subject matter expert, most media related stories in Hawaii on insects come to me. Last week, I received a call about a giant centipede. I won’t go into detail about the call from the reporter but we’ve developed a sense of sensationalist stories and when I finally saw a photo, I knew something was wrong. I issued a statement but it appears like “news” was not interested in true information but was interested in sensationalism and a story that would go viral or sell. They even looked for an expert that would support the sensationalist claims. All of whcih I had to deal with again.
Here is what we look for…
1. We always look for something that gives scale. The photos ultimately used were never shared with us
2. We’re always careful of perspectives, You can make ANYTHING look big with funky camera angles.
3. We always want to see the specimen. It’s the only way for us to make a definitive ID.
4. We never trust that photos are taken here or that insects were collected locally.
So do we have a new centipede… I doubt it. Now though, me and my staff, well, we will have to always deal with this!
