Source: (Mahar, ?The ?Baniwi? Goes Viral,? 2016)Source: Robert Mahar, Banana Kiwi Fruit | Kin Community
Robert Mahar loaded a video to YouTube (April 1, 2014) to show viewers how to create a new hybrid fruit by grafting two various fruits together. He ?grafted? the end piece of a banana and the end piece of a kiwi. After placing the two fruits together into a container with soil, he then waters it. Robert proclaims, ?It takes about a week for the healing process to work, but then they begin to grow together as one fruit. After about two weeks, it begins to sprout like a root vegetable. After three weeks, it matures into a fully grown fruit? (Mahar). After revealing a fully gown banana poking out of the soil, Robert cuts the hybrid banana in half revealing the kiwi interior. Robert goes on to say, ?the taste is a delicate balance of the two fruits? (Mahar). Robert ends the video by wishing his viewers ?A very happy April Fool?s Day? giving his audience a hint of the hoax (Mahar). At first glance, the video appears to confirm Robert successfully produced an unusual hybrid fruit. It did not take much to doubt the content, within the video which warranted additional research. This video served to showcase only one example of false information spreads throughout various mediums on the internet.
A Google search using ?Banana-Kiwi Hybrid Fruit,? returned copious results. One website, Snopes fact-checked the Facebook post that Foods Around shared of Roberts banana-kiwi video. However, Snopes determined this was untrue and dubbed the video false (Evon). My search results did not stop at the Snopes website. Fresh Plaza posted an online newsletter about the Baniwi viral video circulating on Facebook. It does give source credit to the YouTube channel [Kin Community] and the original upload date of April 1, 2014. Fresh Plaza declared the video is a hoax and used information gathered from Snopes for the content within their newsletter (FreshPlaza). Two years later, the video hoax is still buzzing around on the internet. Zach Bussey attempted to recreate the Banwini (March 31, 2016) by referencing back to the original. In Zach?s video rendition, viewers can see a small clip of Robert Mahar?s original video playing in the upper right-hand corner. Zach?s video, ?The BEST Food Hacks: Banana Kiwi Hybrid | EXPERIMENT,? is coincidentally published only one day shy to the second anniversary of Mahar?s (Bussey).
The easiest way to disprove a claim is to find the originating source. In this case, this is the original hybrid fruit claim. Utilizing the internet for a better source to back up this as a hoax came from Robert Mahar himself. On April 28, 2016, Robert published ?The ?Baniwi? Goes Viral? on his website. He stated, ?I?m sorry to report that while certain plant propagation techniques are legitimate ? the ability to grow a kiwi-banana hybrid is simply not possible? (Mahar). He referred to Snopes for debunking the hybrid as a fake. Robert even mentions the Fools Around Facebook page and claims it received 75.5 million views. However, the most compelling thing noticed was his acknowledgment to National Geographic; ?Thankfully, my friends at National Geographic helped set the record straight with their article (fittingly posted on April Fool?s Day!) It was all in good humor and I hope it made you look twice and then laugh! And for the record, all of my other DIY video tutorials are 100% sincere and do-able. Scout?s honor! Thanks for sharing in the fun!? (Mahar)
Although grafting certainly cannot produce a baniwi as the National Geographic points out, Robert?s hybrid fruit video shows how things can spread quickly (Becker). In times of crisis and disaster, critical sources of information are being put out in our news, on social media, and in print. These sources can provide vital sources of information in times of need; however, they can also be partially inaccurate, or blatantly falsified. Locating the originating source, and by doing further research behind the stories can go a long way in uncovering the truth.
http://fautlsavouere.blogspot.com/2016/04/comment-faire-pousser-un-baniwi.html
Works Cited:
?Banana-Kiwi Hybrid Hoax.? FreshPlaza, 21 Mar. 2016, www.freshplaza.com/article/1865/Banana-kiwi-hybrid-hoax/.
Becker, Rachel A. ?Why This April Fools? Kiwi Hybrid Is Bananas.? National Geographic, 1 Apr. 2016, www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/04/01/april-fools-kiwi-banana-hybrid-video/.
Bussey, Zach. ?The BEST Food Hacks: Banana Kiwi Hybrid | EXPERIMENT.? YouTube, YouTube, 31 Mar. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVasgdCHTcg.
?Comment Faire Pousser Un Baniwi!? Faut l ?Savoure !, fautlsavouere.blogspot.com/2016/04/comment-faire-pousser-un-baniwi.html.
Evon, Dan. ?FACT CHECK: How to Create a Hybrid Kiwi-Banana Fruit.? Snopes.com, 17 Mar. 2016, www.snopes.com/fact-check/banana-kiwi-hoax-video/.
Mahar, Robert. ?Banana Kiwi Fruit | Kin Community.? YouTube, YouTube, 1 Apr. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rn08tINChA&feature=youtube.
Mahar, Robert. ?The ?Baniwi? Goes Viral.? Robert Mahar, 28 Apr. 2016, robert-mahar.com/the-baniwi-goes-viral/.
