The Discovery Channel might seem like a beacon of hope and truth-telling for people sick
of all the reality TV and lies out there today, until you actually look at Discovery's programming
The Discovery Channel has lied right to your face more times than they'd probably like
us to admit for them. The Megalodon, a hulking shark beast that could grow 60 feet long and have the bite of a Tyrannosaurus
Rex, is the monster that will never die. Except it did die, millions of years ago, and the Discovery Channel keeps trying to bring
this extinct creature back to life. In 2013, Discovery kicked off their mega-popular Shark Week event with a special titled Megalodon
The Monster Shark Lives, a mockumentary pretending that the giant toothy zombie fish was eating
people off the coast of South Africa. Though the program did contain a shady warning about dramatized events, CNN reported that
huge ratings were followed by a furious public outcry, with many arguing that the fake documentary
had damaged the credibility of Shark Week as a whole. An extraordinary claim demands extraordinary evidence.
Despite a severe lack of extraordinary evidence — or any evidence at all — Discovery continued
this less-than-factual tradition the next year with an equally phony sequel, until finally
cutting it out in 2016. Presumably, the scraps were fed to the sharks
Aquatic apes are not a thing. They were never a thing. Aquatic apes are 100 percent not real, and mermaids didn't evolve from them because
Again, they never existed. Unfortunately, mermaids only work in the world of fantasy, which is why the 2012 fake documentary
Mermaids the Body Found, which aired on Discovery's Animal Planet, caused such an uproar
Both Discovery and Animal Planet are known for educational programming, not hoaxes, so
sneaking in a fake documentary which claimed that mermaids were real creatures covered
up by the U.S. government is incredibly damaging to the institutions of science, facts, and
society as a whole. We want 100% proof because you want 100% $1 million.
Snopes debunked the whole mermaid thing after the program aired, but the scam was quite convincing
to some with the so-called documentary featuring elaborate CGI sequences and interviews with
experts who turned out to be actors. There's nothing wrong with using the documentary format to create compelling fictional narratives
using video passed off as found footage, as films like The Blair Witch Project and the
original Cloverfield have proven, but it's extremely important to make these intentions
clear from the outset so casual viewers aren't misled into thinking mermaids evolved from
water apes. Bear Grylls is one rugged dude If you watched his Discovery TV program Man Vs Wild you were amazed to see him survive through crazy weather conditions animal attacks and a diet of giant larvae and bugs Not to mention sleeping outside in harsh
natural environments. Yikes. But according to The Telegraph, when filming wrapped for any given day
Grills actually spent the night in luxury hotels. Hmm, didn't see that on TV
As the New York Times explains, some of the woodland terrains Grills was forced to endure
included a resort advertised as a cozy getaway for families with such life-threatening hazards
as a hot tub, a stone fireplace, a television, and internet access. Scary stuff, huh
However, to Grill's credit, he did apologize for all this fakery and promised to do better
by his viewers in the future. Hey, remember when a giant snake swallowed John Voight whole
in the 1997 thriller Anaconda? Have you ever wanted to see the same thing happen to somebody
in real life? If you answered yes to that question, it's probably a good time for a
little introspection. However, it seems the Discovery Channel was listening to your deepest
darkest desires because in 2014, they started making a huge marketing push for their special
Eaten Alive, claiming the program would feature a guy named Paul Rosely being
you know, eaten alive by an anaconda. But old Paul wasn't planning to die
He was outfitted with a special high-tech anaconda-proof suit. I want to do something that's just going to grab people's attention
Unfortunately for Discovery, and those who watched the stunt, Rosalie's attempt at getting
eaten alive seriously backfired. After having the show's marketing pushed down their throats for months, anyone who tuned
in had to sit through two hours of highly staged material, culminating in Rosalie getting
constricted, almost having his arms broken, and then tapping out. Good for him, and good for the poor, tormented Anaconda, but the whole thing makes you wonder
what happened to the person who greenlit this ridiculous idea in the first place
It's hard to say why a show about illegal street racing is on the Discovery Channel to begin with
Still, the show Street Outlaws purports to document real, unlawful, dangerous street races
in Oklahoma City. Actual street racing is a remarkably irresponsible activity, totally different from the fantasy
scenarios in the Fast and Furious movies. Drivers can be seriously injured, bystanders can be killed, and property can be ruined
which is why the National Hot Rod Association threatened to revoke the license of anyone
who appeared on the show. So how can Discovery film the series without getting in trouble with law enforcement
Well, because law enforcement is in cahoots with the show, of course
According to Oklahoma's News 9, Street Outlaws was caught employing police officers to shut
down stretches of roads so they could film their racing scenes. And we're not just talking about tiny neighborhoods, either
The cops shut down an entire section of State Highway 81 in Union City just so that a ridiculous little TV show about supposedly illegal races could legally film those races The highway was blocked off for 10 hours for the price of a whopping 25 bucks
Get that money, boy! Ever since Jonathan Davis was a kid, he dreamed of one day appearing on Shark Week
He went on to become a notable marine biologist and was understandably jazzed when Discovery
asked him to be a part of their program. Little did he know that he was about to get royally screwed over
The first sign that something fishy was going on came when the crew filmed Davis' team pulling
sharks out of the water and tagging them for actual scientific research, and a producer
asked Davis to let the shark bite him for ratings. Davis refused, but the suspicious antics didn't end there
According to Gizmodo, the film crew repeatedly refused to answer Davis' questions about how
the footage would be used. Finally, at the end of the shoot, Davis was asked if he believed in old stories of a mystical
voodoo shark called the Rookin, which allegedly prowls the Louisiana Bayou. "...an alligator?
"...no. Shark." Being a scientist, Davis laughed this off. However, months later, Davis had the not-so-happy realization that his footage was being featured
on a TV program titled Voodoo Shark, with his interview edited to make him look like
a die-hard Rookin believer, racing against a team of Bayou fishermen to catch the storied
Voodoo Shark. "...this ain't no story, this is for real." It should be obvious that the so-called reality program Amish Mafia is faker than fake, considering
that the whole idea of a group of dedicated Amish people signing up to be followed by
TV cameras is wildly against their entire belief system. But just how artificial is the series
It's 100% legit, like, it's 100% real, like, people, a lot of people got help from the
Amish Mafia. Yeah, we're not so sure about all that. While the credits do warn of select reenactments, the series never says which sequences are
supposedly true, which is fairly suspicious. As Snopes points out, it's entirely possible that everything on the series is staged
Also it seems pretty ridiculous to imagine that anyone would so openly break the law
on a TV program as the Amish Mafia folks do in the show by doing things like shooting
out car windows, breaking into houses, and smashing milk bottles. If you want a more realistic look at Amish life without ludicrous staged reenactments
drive down to Pennsylvania and meet some Amish folk in real life. Or maybe just turn on PBS
A 2008 episode of Discovery's Deadliest Catch contains a frightening sequence in which an
Alaskan crab fishing boat named The Wizard is forced to fight through nightmarish storm conditions
Giant waves crash over the deck, water floods the inside of the boat
Will The Wizard's crew survive this perfect storm? You can get ready to hold your breath Spoiler alert they did survive but not without a little controversy Though The Wizards certainly made it through some big waves The Hollywood Reporter brought some problems with the show narrative to light
For example, the scenes of the boat flooding were shot in September, while the storm waves
didn't actually hit until October. These mismatched dates meant that unrelated events were cut together to make a more perilous scene
Cry creative license all you want, but if you don't tell your audience that you are using
said creative license, you end up looking pretty deceptive when your program is marketed
as a documentary show. Alaskan bush people might portray its stars as living rugged, old-fashioned lives in the
desolate Wild North, far away from the contemporary world, but this isn't exactly the whole truth
Alaska's famous wilderness does make it possible to live far away from other people, but the
Brown family lives closer to civilization than the show would have you believe
The Anchorage Daily News reported that the Brown's oh-so-secluded residence was only
a dirt trail away from the highway and a half mile from a pizza place
The nearest neighbor was apparently so close to the family's house that he got insanely
frustrated with all the noise and hoopla surrounding filming and tried to shoo production helicopters
away by shooting fireworks into the sky. I love the howl up to me
Yeah, I like to hear the… That was the fire. Another deep cut to the show's authenticity is that the entire backstory of the Brown
family's old house being burned down by the government is highly dubious, according to
Channel Guide magazine. Notice that important details, like whether the family actually lived there or whether
the cabin actually went down in flames, were severely underreported. Quick, sound the alarm
Yet another reality show that's sadly lacking in reality, Gold Rush supposedly chronicles
the day-to-day lives of professional gold-mining families. Fair enough, but actual day-to-day life is far less scripted than what you'll see on
this show. Former Gold Rush, Alaska cast member Jimmy Dorsey has come out and admitted that the
show is planned, scripted, and directed from the beginning, with certain cast members intentionally
acting out to create dramatic situations. Dorsey revealed that even his big exit from the show was arranged by producers, who steered
him out through careful manipulation of events. Hey, you shut up and get out of my cabin. Now
Get out of the cabin. For it." Dorsey also said the editors cut about 90 percent of the positive interactions and events captured
during filming, but that's not exactly a surprise. Friendly, pleasant conversations don't make for entertaining TV or cliffhanger commercial
breaks — even if they are more realistic