IN SHORT: Dragons may exist in myths and legends, but a video circulating on social media in Nigeria, while realistic, shows a model made for a Spanish TV show and isn’t evidence of a living dragon found in Anambra state.
A video is doing the rounds on Facebook in Nigeria with the claim that a dragon was found in Anambra state in eastern Nigeria.
The video appears to show a dragon lying on the ground, while a man narrates the scene in the Igbo language widely spoken in the region.
Translated into English, the man claims that the creature in the video is a baby dragon found in Okija, a town in Anambra. There is too much noise in the rest of the audio to hear what an indistinct voice is saying.
The claim also appears on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. The video has attracted thousands of views and reactions.
Dragons are large lizard- or serpent-like creatures that appear in the myths, legends and folklore of many cultures. They can be either evil or benevolent, depending on the culture. But their existence has never been proven.
So what does the video show then?
Manipulated video
Africa Check did a Google reverse image search of a screenshot taken from the video and found it has been online since at least 2016.
Further searching led us to a YouTube video titled “Juan Villa Herrero artist create fake dragon”.
We looked up Juan Villa Herrero's designs and found a YouTube video that shows him designing and building the model dragon for the Spanish TV programme Cuarto Milenio. The popular programme has aired since 2005 and explores supernatural phenomena.
The video shows a realistic model with misleading Igbo audio added to make the claim credible. It is sadly not proof that dragons exist.
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