A far-reaching hoax on social media makes a big claim about the existence of giants. But evidence shows there’s little to the story.<\/p>\n
In September, USA TODAY debunked a false claim that thousands of giant skeletons were found\u00a0but destroyed by the Smithsonian and the Vatican. The National Geographic\u00a0Society had battled the hoax\u00a0since 2004.<\/p>\n
A more recent version of the hoax says another giant skeleton has been found\u00a0\u2014 this time in Thailand.<\/p>\n
“The skeleton of this giant was discovered in November 2017 in a cave in Krabi, Thailand,” says a June 13\u00a0Facebook post, which includes an image of a person posing with skeletons. “This was just made public a few months ago. The skeleton appeared to have been battling a large horned serpent upon death.”<\/p>\n
The post had more than 1,600 interactions before it was deleted.\u00a0The claim also circulated in varioustweets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fact check: <\/strong>Online post showing giant human skeletons is an old hoax<\/span><\/p>\n But the image doesn’t show the skeleton of a giant. In fact, it shows an art installation in Thailand.<\/p>\n USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post\u00a0for comment.<\/p>\n The giant skeleton was part of a Taiwanese artist’s exhibition at\u00a0the inaugural Thailand Biennale, an international exhibition of contemporary art, according to the Taiwan\u00a0Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n The work,\u00a0“Giant Ruins,” is from artist Tu Wei-cheng. It\u00a0“explores the boundaries between the realms of real and fictional to rethink history,” according to the Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n Fact check: <\/strong>Elongated skulls in Peru are human, not alien, expert says<\/span><\/p>\n Taiwan Today reported that\u00a0Tu was inspired by a folktale from Krabi, a region in southern Thailand, about two foes fighting over a princess.\u00a0<\/p>\n The exhibition was on display\u00a0from Nov. 2, 2018, through Sept. 28, 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture.<\/p>\n The claim that a skeleton found in 2017 belongs to a giant who battled a serpent is FALSE, based on our research. The skeleton\u00a0featured in the picture is from\u00a0an installation by\u00a0a Taiwanese artist. It was\u00a0one of two works chosen for\u00a0the inaugural\u00a0Thailand Biennale, which ran from\u00a02018 to 2019.<\/p>\nSkeletons part of art exhibition\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Our rating: False<\/h2>\n
Our fact-checking courses:<\/h2>\n