Italian artwork viral as ‘dangerous creature’ drops from sky in Darbhanga after Cyclone Yaas

Facebook page KBC News Katihar posted a video in the form of a news broadcast where the anchor claimed that Cyclone Yaas left a ‘dangerous creature’ behind in Darbhanga, Bihar. “The creature has shocked even NASA. It said that this creature brings the possibility of a grave danger for Earth…It is in a half-dead state due to falling from a great height,” the anchor added. She also draws parallels to a video of an ‘alien’ found in Jharkhand (which was unsurprisingly found to be untrue). The video has over 1.7 million views.

Alt News has received the video on WhatsApp helpline number (+91 76000 11160) and mobile application.

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Viral last year with a different claim

A message warning farmers to say wary of a ‘dangerous animal’ was widely circulating on social media with images of the same ‘creature’ last year. The message said, “It is requested to all farmers to not step out on farms at night. Stay safe, beware, this is an extremely dangerous animal which is now headed to Rajasthan from Gujarat.”

The claim was viral on Facebook and Twitter. Some websites also reported that a strange animal was spotted in India. Viral Track and Middle Era were among such websites.

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On October 29, 2018, a News18 report had carried a picture of this ‘animal’ claiming it was seen in the Jagtial district in Telangana. But the report had also speculated that the photograph may or may not be real.

Alt News had received verification requests on its official mobile application last year as well.

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Fact-check

After performing a reverse image search, we found these photos in a blog post dated July 13, 2020. According to the blog post, the photos show silicon artwork created by Laira Maganuco, an artist who is able to “stimulate nature, refining her own style that finds a place in the hyperrealism and surrealism world. She is able to improve more and more her sculptural technique that leads to the creation of unique silicone works.”

On October 3, 2018, Maganuco shared videos of her artwork along with the pictures going viral on Facebook. She wrote that the creation is a silicon artwork of a hybrid version of an Armadillo. Pictures of numerous such silicon artwork have also been shared on Maganuco’s Instagram page.

Her artwork is available on etsy.com which says she is from Italy.

The armadillo picture viral on social media is up for sale on the website for US$ 7933.46. The product description reads, “This piece is carved entirely by hand in acetic silicone paste. Technique developed by me over time. The product is unique and unrepeatable, suitable for enthusiasts and collectors. It contains elements of great detail, to make the piece of art even more realistic.”

Thus pictures of silicon artwork made by an Italian artist are viral with false claims suggesting a dangerous creature fell from the sky in Bihar and farmers should beware of a ‘dangerous animal’ lurking on farms at night.