Fact Check: Viral image of dolphin foetus is silicon model, not real photograph

Hyderabad: An image supposedly showing a dolphin foetus in the womb has taken the internet by storm with many claiming the image to be real.

Similar posts were also shared on multiple social media platforms such as Instagram, X and YouTube as well. The viral image is being shared with the caption, “Awesome baby dolphin inside it’s mom. (sic)”

We found that the same image was being shared on social media since 2012 assuming it to be a real depiction of a dolphin’s womb. Let’s find out the truth behind the viral image.

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the image is fake as it shows a silicon model of a dolphin 12 months of development.

On performing a reverse image search taking the viral image, we found the same image uploaded on a website David Barlow film archive titled trans-illuminated womb dated 2018.

Here, the viral image could be seen as part of a video. The description of the video depicting a dolphin baby was mentioned as a “silicon model of a dolphin 12-month development.”

The same was also published on Barlow’s YouTube channel in September 1, 2014. According to the description of the video, “12-month Dolphin foetus In the Womb just before birth. The model was made for the ‘In the Womb’ series of programmes produced by Pioneer Productions and shown on National Geographic television in the US and Channel 4 television in the UK. This is a motion control shot of the foetus, lit as though light is glowing through the mother’s body.”

Over a keyword search, we found the same image on Reddit with the title ‘a dolphin foetus photograph inside its mother’s womb.’ The flair for the image on the website was marked as ‘Misleading Title.’

Moreover, we found the same image on 9gag as well with the title ‘National Geographic producer Peter Chinn created images of unborn animals using a combination of 4-D scanning, CGI and tiny camera for the TV series ‘In the Womb’.

In this image, a similar depiction of an elephant’s foetus was also represented. Hence, it is evident that this longstanding viral image is not a real photograph but a silicon model.