Animal Planet’s fake mermaid documentary blurred fiction and science so effectively that NOAA ended up answering whether aquatic humanoids were real.
Convincing people you have discovered mermaids is considerably easier when your television channel is called Animal Planet. In 2012, Mermaids: The Body Found borrowed the familiar language of wildlife documentaries to sell an extraordinary fiction: scientists had uncovered evidence of aquatic relatives of humans, and powerful people wanted it buried.
There were interviews, mysterious recordings and footage presented as evidence. There were also actors and computer-generated creatures. Some viewers missed that distinction, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration eventually found itself answering a question that Disney usually handles.
Animal Planet Had the Perfect Disguise
Premiering in the United States on May 27, 2012, during Animal Planet’s Monster Week, Mermaids: The Body Found followed a fictional investigation into an unidentified marine creature. Its story mixed whale strandings, underwater sounds and a government cover-up with supposedly groundbreaking discoveries.
The ingredients were carefully chosen. Real ocean phenomena gave the invented material something solid to cling to, while actors playing scientists supplied the reassuring authority of people who appeared to know what they were talking about. Manufactured footage completed the illusion.
Even the evolutionary backstory came dressed for a lecture. The program used the controversial aquatic ape hypothesis as a springboard for imagining a branch of humanity that adapted to life underwater. That leap made for an entertaining creature feature, but it did not constitute evidence that mermaids existed.
Animal Planet’s publicity did identify the special as science fiction. The same announcement, however, promised a “wildly convincing picture” of mermaids and described the production as “so compelling with evidence and so credible.” The marketing practically congratulated the illusion before viewers had seen it.
The Disclaimer Had Some Heavy Lifting to Do
A brief disclaimer at the end was competing with an entire program built to resemble an investigation. Viewers who missed it could leave believing they had watched scientists reveal a suppressed discovery on a channel associated with actual animals.
The cover-up storyline made the arrangement especially slippery. Once a fictional investigation suggests authorities are hiding the truth, an official denial can look like another piece of the plot. The real scientists trying to explain the fiction are suddenly auditioning for the role of suspicious government spokesperson.
Questions reached NOAA. On June 27, 2012, its National Ocean Service published an Ocean Facts entry titled “Are mermaids real?” Its answer was admirably economical:
“No evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found.”
The circumstances were less dramatic than the legend that grew around them. This was an educational webpage, not an emergency government investigation. A spokesperson described receiving a few questions around the broadcast and using the opportunity to discuss mermaid folklore and introduce readers to the agency’s work.
The Mermaids Got a Sequel Anyway
Animal Planet returned to the premise with Mermaids: The New Evidence on May 26, 2013. The follow-up attracted 3.6 million viewers, making it the network’s most-watched telecast at the time.
That audience figure does not tell us how many people believed it. Plenty could have enjoyed the fiction, watched out of curiosity or simply wanted to see what Animal Planet would try next. It does explain why a scientific correction was unlikely to spoil the attraction.
The enduring absurdity is that a wildlife channel got to invent an animal, while an actual ocean agency got the questions. Animal Planet had another television hit. NOAA had a webpage explaining that nobody had found a mermaid.