The claim: Hundreds of poisonous snakes were released in a highway accident in Georgia

A Facebook post from August 7 (direct link, archive link) shares a photo of an accident involving a semi-trailer truck on a highway in Georgia.

“An accident occurred on State Route 15 between Blackshear and Bristol involving a semi-trailer truck transporting venomous snakes from Florida to a private laboratory in northern Georgia that specializes in antivenom research. The accident resulted in the release of hundreds of non-native, deadly snakes, including the spiny bush viper and the Malayan blue coral snake, for which there is no known antivenom,” the post said.

Some social media users believed the report was real and left comments expressing concern for people’s safety.

“This is really creepy,” one user wrote in part. “Love you all! Keep your eyes open and stay inside as much as possible until the problem is solved.”

“Trust in GOD and the wonderful people who know about wildlife and how to handle snakes,” wrote another user.

The post was shared over 7,000 times within six days.

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Our rating: Satire

The post was shared by a self-proclaimed satire account. The post uses an image of an accident that occurred months earlier elsewhere in Georgia, and local law enforcement also confirmed that none of what was described in the post happened.

Post triggered emergency calls

The post was shared by a Facebook account that resembles an official account for the city of Blackshear in southeast Georgia. However, the account’s “About Us” section clearly labels it as satirical, and the account user referenced the satirical nature of the page in his replies to some comments on the post.

However, not everyone checks the comments or relevant links when reading social media posts, admitted the Facebook user who shared the claim.

“People are quick to believe things online and ignore the obvious,” the social media user who shared the claim told USA TODAY.

Local police officers did not find the post funny. Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett openly expressed his anger.

“NO truck accident, NO snakes, LOTS of calls,” he said in an email. “Our office has fielded dozens of calls about this and wasted a lot of time on something that never happened.”

Blackshear Police Chief Chris Wright told USA TODAY the post prompted inquiries to local police and fire departments, including five or six 911 calls.

“It ranged from people saying, ‘This can’t be true, can it?’ to people who were really concerned,” Wright said.

A local newspaper, The Blackshear Times, published a Facebook post on August 7 also refuting the story.

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There have been no accidents involving semi-trailers in or near the community of about 3,500 that could have been “glossed over,” Wright said.

The post uses an image from an accident that occurred in Effingham County in April, about 100 miles from the alleged accident scene. That accident briefly closed traffic on Interstate 16, and local media coverage made no mention of snakes being released.

Lead Stories also refuted this claim.

Our fact-checking sources:

• Chris Wright, Aug. 13, telephone interview with USA TODAY

• City of Blackshear, Pierce County, accessed August 12, Facebook profile

• The Blackshear Times, August 7, Facebook post

• WJCL-TV, updated April 11, Overturned semi-trailer paralyzes traffic on I-16

• Ramsey Bennett, August 13, email exchange with USA TODAY

• City of Blackshear, Pierce County, Aug. 13, Facebook message exchange with USA TODAY

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Venomous snakes not accidentally released. History is satire | Fact check