The most amazing, toxic-green betta you could imagine puts GloBettas to shame and blew up on social media this year. It’s easy to understand why this fish went viral…it’s amazingly vibrant and color we’ve not seen in bettas before. It’s almost too good to be true. But the proof is the video, which demands attention!
Watch what appears to be a copy of the original viral video of the Hulk Betta:
Well, let’s just say that Photoshop has been a problem for a long time, but it used to be that the average video posted by an aquarist was probably somewhat trustworthy. A picture could be easily faked or altered, but a video required a much higher level of sophistication and expertise, not to mention software expense and time. But as technology becomes more accessible and less expensive (or even free), we should hardly be surprised to see it leveraged.
You can probably see where this story is going, but the video that follows from YouTuber M C will give you a deeper appreciation for the origins of the Green Hulk Betta.
The Hulk Betta’s Origins, Revealed
It’s unclear whether this was just intended as a harmless prank, or a serious attempt to deceive. But the message is what’s important: what once was a relatively trustworthy medium must now be met with the same skepticism as any other widely accessible, easily malleable medium. Just because you saw it on the Internet, doesn’t mean it’s real.
To those of you who got your hopes up that a Hulk Betta was coming to a LFS near year? Sorry, not sorry.
