Fake News: How to Create a Hybrid Kiwi-Banana Fruit
On March 13, 2016, a Facebook page called “Foods Around” posted a video with no caption of a man creating a supposed hybrid of a kiwi and a banana. He called it a “banana kiwi fruit,” and others have begun to call it a “baniwi.” When you watch the video, you begin to think this might be possible. I mean, there have been hybrids created before, why wouldn’t this one be possible? The thing is that for a hybrid fruit to be successfully created, the two fruits have to be of the same species or genus. Kiwis and bananas are not from the same species, making this video is a hoax.
Within the first days of the video being posted on Facebook, it already had more than 500,000 shares. Now it has over a million and about 77 million views! This is a shocking number. You might be wondering why people are sharing and viewing this. Is it because they actually believe this? Maybe they want to share it to try and see if others believe it? Perhaps some just find it entertaining. Who knows!
In the video, you see a man cutting up the end of a banana and doing the same with a kiwi. He then proceeds to put them together, the open cuts of the fruit touching, and plant them in a pot. He then shows the supposed process of this fruit’s growth. The video is of some stems growing out of the pot he planted the hybrid on. It then transforms into what looks like a banana with some stems growing in the top of it. He then proceeds to take out the hybrid from the pot and cuts a slice, revealing the final product.
The clip cuts abruptly at the end, and it’s because it’s not the full video. It is cut up and edited in a way that makes it seem real. The original video was posted on the YouTube channel “Kin community” on April 1st, 2014. The first clue pointing to this video not authentic is the date it was published (April Fools). If you watch the full video, you can see at the end the creator wishing everyone a happy April Fool’s Day. Then if you proceed to read the description of the video, everything is explained. Quoting the creator, “if you are able to successfully grow the beautiful banana and kiwi combination demonstrated in this video, we recommend you proceed directly to your corner market and purchase a lottery ticket.” This means that if you do get these results, then you better try your luck next with the lottery!
The original video has one million views. If you compare the views from the original video to the one posted on Facebook, you can see the effects of social media sharing. Facebook is available everywhere, and anyone can access it and post anything they want. This site is often used as a credible source on arguments and the spreading of news. The thing is, everyone is so ready to share everything that they don’t stop to check if they’re real. While hybrid fruits are possible, a baniwi certainly isn’t one.
Works Cited
“Banana Kiwi Fruit.” Facebook Watch, 13 Mar. 2016, https://www.facebook.com/FoodsAround/videos/866522853458163/.
“Banana Kiwi Fruit | Kin Community.” YouTube, 1 Apr. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rn08tINChA&feature=youtu.be.
Evon, Dan. “FACT CHECK: How to Create a Hybrid Kiwi-Banana Fruit.” Snopes.com, 17 Mar. 2016, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/banana-kiwi-hoax-video/.