Today, the Social Media Animal Cruelty Coalition (SMACC), a network of 29 animal protection organizations, released a groundbreaking report titled Spot the Scam: Unmasking Fake Animal Rescues, exposing the growing threat of “fake animal rescue” content on social media platforms. The report calls for action from social media companies to prioritize animal welfare over financial gain and urges the public to be vigilant in recognizing and reporting such content.
According to the report, fake rescue content depicts animals in dangerous or desperate situations, only for the so-called rescuer to stage a dramatic intervention for views and donations. In many cases, these animals are intentionally harmed or placed in perilous circumstances, making the rescuers complicit in their suffering.
Alan Knight, president of International Animal Rescue, commented on the report, stating, “The setting up of fake rescues is a particularly vile and sickening way to exploit and abuse animals for money – and even more so because it plays on the compassion and kindness of an unwitting audience eager to see suffering animals saved from harm. It’s easy to be misled into thinking a scene of an animal needing help is genuine, and that is why it’s essential that social media platforms do much, much more to identify and remove this type of content.”
To help people spot fake animal rescues on social media, International Animal Rescue has developed a four-step guide, available in both PDF and video format.
The report also reveals alarming statistics, including 1022 links showcasing fake rescue content collected over six weeks from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter/X. These links had been watched over 572 million times, with 52% of them found on Facebook and Instagram, and 21% of fake rescue creators soliciting donations under the guise of helping animals.
The report exposes the disturbing trend of using young animals, such as kittens, puppies, and monkeys, in fake rescue videos, with cats being the most featured animal at 42%. However, very little is known about what happens to these animals after the video is over, raising concerns about their well-being and treatment by the content creators.
In an effort to raise awareness and combat this harmful trend, International Animal Rescue has made the full censored report available to the public. The report can be viewed on their website at www.internationalanimalrescue.org.
SMACC calls on social media companies to take action to remove fake rescue content from their platforms and to prioritize animal welfare over financial gain. They also urge the public to be vigilant in recognizing and reporting fake rescue content.
For more information and resources on how to spot fake animal rescues on social media, visit www.internationalanimalrescue.org.
Derick is an experienced reporter having held multiple senior roles for large publishers across Europe. Specialist subjects include small business and financial emerging markets.