China’s lunar rover, Yutu-2, made history when it became the first robotic explorer to ever land on the far side of the moon. However, recently there has been some controversy surrounding one of its photos, which shows what looks like a white rabbit! The Chinese government immediately denied these claims, stating that the image was simply an out-of-focus rock and nothing more. But did they tell us everything?
Is It Real?
Biological Sample Analysis at Mars (BSA) instruments. It is not a mystery why this is only revealed now, because from our data we can tell that this moon cube was never wet, and has no organic materials of any kind.
Many believe this to be a giant rabbit when you look at it as well, which also confirms that the rock was not wet and eroded away by water. You can see more images on The People’s Daily Online of the rabbit shape
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Reaction Videos
The rover’s arm is manipulated to pick up the rock and a close-up video of it makes its true shape unmistakable. The Moon Cube Hoax video’s creator responded with another video where he claimed that people needed to see it from the side in order to see its true shape, but was again refuted by scientists who asserted that both sides looked like the same side in different lighting conditions. Experts believe that while there is no water on the Moon, these rocks can show evidence of past erosion. This caused some initial confusion as it seemed unlikely for these rocks, which are likely billions of years old, to have been transported to the lunar surface without signs of water runoff or erosive markings somewhere else on their surface.
The Headline
It turns out the supposed ‘moon cube’ is just a rabbit-shaped rock that was photographed by China’s Yutu moon rover. Last month, internet posts and media sites were abuzz with excitement over photos of a strange, egg-shaped object discovered on the moon by China’s robotic Change-4 probe. The reports suggested the appearance could be explained if China’s Yutu had found a white, hard lunar cube. However, Chinese scientists investigating the story have revealed that what was thought to be a rare find is actually just an ordinary rock shaped like a rabbit. Photos were taken by Change-4 show nothing resembling an egg or anything remotely like one.
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Reactions From Around the World
No one knows who hoaxed the moon cube story, but now that it’s been revealed to be a rabbit-shaped rock, everyone is disappointed. This so doesn’t make sense, says Abe Tucker of Denver, Colorado. We are supposed to believe this nonsense now?
Clickbait Media Knew About This Story Before Buzzfeed
Buzzfeed’s recent viral story on the moon cube discovered by the Chinese rover was just that, a viral story. Buzzfeed knew about this information before publishing the post as evidenced by their use of an image from NASA and links to NASA stories.
How Would Buzzfeed Get Caught Out?
The funniest part of this hoax is that Buzzfeed just didn’t notice the signs. The photo was one of the first ones to be shared on social media with the story. If you zoom in, it’s very obvious that it’s not a Moon Cube, but a rabbit-shaped rock. I would have thought they’d spot that right away.
Alternative Versions of the Same Story
A moon cube discovered by China’s rover has turned out to be nothing more than a rabbit-shaped rock. Chinese space agency revealed the Hoax yesterday following a rumor that gained traction after an image was shared on Chinese social media and spread internationally through US President Donald Trump’s tweet.
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Final Thoughts on Buzzfeed’s Mistake
This ‘Moon Cube Hoax Revealed’ headline is more than just a mistake, it was also a prime example of unoriginal content. Buzzfeed failed to realize that the post was not original and has done nothing but stir the pot on an issue they were poorly informed about in the first place. Buzzfeed has now damaged its reputation by publishing misleading information, an action which won’t bode well for them when it comes to customer trust in its journalistic integrity. As much as people want to get rid of fake news and alternative facts, it’s clear that we can’t stop here – there are still a lot of people out there who are content with making blatantly false statements disguised as truth.
