National Geographic Great White Shark Photo
Published September 8, 2026
A great white shark leaping beside a small boat went viral in December 2016 after being falsely labeled National Geographic's Photo of the Year. The image was actually a Shutterstock composite by artist Alexyz3d, and the hoax became a recurring reference point for viral photo misattribution.
Overview
The picture shows a great white breaching from the water next to a small vessel, staged as a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife shot1. The hoax attached fake context to the image: a fabricated photographer name, often given as 'Bob Burton,' and the fake claim of a National Geographic Photo of the Year prize2.
Fact-checkers matched the visual to a digitally composited stock upload by Shutterstock contributor Alexyz3d, meaning the shark was never captured in the wild the way the caption suggested1. The fake credit line was what carried the image, since viewers who trusted the National Geographic label passed it on without checking2.
Origin & Background
In December 2016, a digitally edited composite by Shutterstock artist Alexyz3d began spreading on Twitter with captions crediting National Geographic, and in some versions attributing the shot to a nonexistent photographer named Bob Burton3. The underlying artwork was a stock composite listed for licensing on Shutterstock, not real wildlife photography from an expedition5.
How It Spread
Frequently Asked Questions
References (5)
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