Georgia snake spill story is satire, though many fooled | Fact check

An Aug. 7 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shares an image of a crash involving a semi-trailer truck on a Georgia highway.
“An accident involving a semi-trailer transporting venomous snakes from Florida to a private laboratory in North Georgia specializing in antivenom research occurred on State Route 15 between Blackshear and Bristol, resulting in the release of hundreds of non-native, deadly snakes, including the Spiny Bush Viper and Malayan Blue Coral Snake, both of which have no known antivenom,” the post reads in part.
Some social media users believed the report was real, leaving comments expressing concern for people’s safety.
“That is really scarey (sic),” one user wrote in part. “I love all of y’all ! Keep your eyes open & stay inside as much as you can until this is took care of.”
“Trust in GOD, and the Wonderful People who understand Wild Life and know how to Handle the snakes,” another user wrote.
The post was shared more than 7,000 times in six days.
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The post was shared by a self-described satirical account. The post uses an image of an accident elsewhere in Georgia months prior, and local law enforcement agency also confirmed nothing described in the post happened.
The post was shared by a Facebook account that resembles an official account for the southeastern Georgia city of Blackshear. But the “About Us” section of the account clearly labels it as satirical, and the account user referenced the page’s satirical nature in responding to some comments on the post.
But not everyone checks the comments or relevant links when reading posts on social media, the Facebook user who shared the claim acknowledged.
“People are quick to believe something on the internet while ignoring the obvious,” the social media user sharing the claim told USA TODAY.
Local law enforcement officials were not amused by the post. Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett was direct about his irritation.
“NO truck wreck, NO snakes, LOTS of calls,” he said in an email. “Our office fielded dozens of calls about this, wasting a lot of time on something that never occurred.”
Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright told USA TODAY the post spurred inquiries to local police and fire departments, including five or six calls to 911.
“They ranged from people saying, ‘This can’t be true, right?’ to people who were genuinely concerned,” Wright said.
A community newspaper, The Blackshear Times, published a Facebook post Aug. 7 also refuting the story.
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No tractor trailer crashes happened in or near the community of about 3,500 that could have been “embellished,” Wright said.
The post uses a picture from a crash that happened in April in Effingham County, about 100 miles away from the location of the purported crash. That wreck briefly shut down traffic on Interstate 16, and local media coverage made no mention of snakes being released.
Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
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