No one’s perfect in the media game. Lord knows I’ve made more than my fair share of spelling errors. You write enough words and a few of them are bound to be wrong on a long enough timeline. But there’s a copy editor in the ABC News room currently trying to find a hole big enough to bury themselves in, after one such spelling error happened to turn the tone of a very serious news report in an entirely different direction.
The news story in question involved the legitimately frightening story of a 10-year-old Tasmanian boy who, yesterday, was pulled from a boat by a shark while fishing with his father off the coast of Stanley on the state’s north-west coast.
The shark, believed to be a Great White, released the boy after his father heroically leapt into the water after it. The boy’s life jacket was shredded, and he is currently recovering in hospital in a stable condition.
That last point needs to be stressed quite clearly before we go any further. The boy is ok. He is going to be fine.
So when the ABC News team put the story on air just a short few moments ago, what should’ve been a run-of-the-mill news report has instead attracted immediate attention across social media because ah… the on-screen graphic called it a “Shart Attack.”
Not a Shark Attack.
A Shart Attack.
@abcnews I’m sorry, what? #shartattack 😂
(in all seriousness though, well wishes to the child and family) pic.twitter.com/xv4XTN7Q0d— Shannon ❤️💙 (@Mietar) July 18, 2020
That’s not a photoshop job, either. Multiple users across Twitter were quick to point out the error as well.
https://twitter.com/Orangewarri2r/status/1284417609023188993
@abcnews reporting on the shart attack pic.twitter.com/KxKu1zjums
— slavs (@iamslavs) July 18, 2020
I would’ve done the same, can’t blame the kid. #ShartAttack pic.twitter.com/6Qw11rPDft
— SportShmort (@SportShmort) July 18, 2020
Sounds painful @abcnews #shartattack pic.twitter.com/g1VgTz4zDQ
— Cam McMaster (@mcmadvertising) July 18, 2020
https://twitter.com/DerGenetiker/status/1284417750652219394
I hope he’s okay pic.twitter.com/9qYDVsVLp5
— Dan Hall (@danieljohnhall) July 18, 2020
Just in case you needed video proof of the tiny little poo poo, there’s video of the strap’s existence as well.
The power of a letter, hey @abcnews? We’ve all done it. #shartattack #dana #dananana #thanksIneededthat pic.twitter.com/zNKVIIO4CT
— Amy Maddison (@string_words) July 18, 2020
Again, the kid is fine. He is recovering in hospital from his truly terrifying-sounding shark attack.
How he’s doing after the subsequent shart attack, however, remains to be seen.
