Claim: Photograph shows a rattlesnake killed in Georgia.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2007]
Golf Anyone? Timber Rattler Watch them snakes!!!!!!! This is a Timber Rattler killed at Oakview Golf Course in Macon, GA within the last few days. Killed with a two iron on hole This is the greens keeper pictured, the snake killer is not pictured but was said to have come across the snake looking for a lost ball.  |
Origins: Similar
to another much-traveled photograph of a recently-killed, venomous snake being displayed on the end of a pole or stick thrust towards the camera, this picture has been forwarded widely via
The earliest version we received stated that the
According to the Macon Telegraph, Oakview Golf Course officials disclaimed the notion that the photograph was snapped on their links and noted that the rumor has had a deleterious effect on their business:
Hill said the snake's size has stirred fear in the community. "I've got people calling, saying 'I won't ever come play golf with you again,'" said Hill, who owns a stake in the golf course and has developed a neighborhood of homes there. "And I've got people and their grandparents saying they are scared for their children to walk outside their house because they think there is a big old snake out there." The e-mail has had a chilling impact, said John Wicks, the golf course's superintendent. "I believe it has hurt our business, and it's not funny any more," he said. "It kind of shows what happens if something is untruthful and it gets put out there and how that can affect somebody's business. It shows how fast things can move (on the Internet). You just can't stop it now."
"I don't know where that came from," [Rick] Hill said, referring to the picture of the enormous reptile. "It's a lie that got put out on the Internet."
Last updated: 27 October 2007
Sources: