When does fakery in nature documentaries go too far and what about the scientists in them?

This editorial reflects on deception in nature documentaries, ranging from trifling and, arguably, justifiable tricks to the outright hoaxes that gravely mislead viewers and damage public trust in science. Examples are drawn from Disney, BBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other productions. S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar research Vol. 44
Main Author: Goldman, Helle V.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Spånga Open Academia 12.11.2025
Subjects:
Animals
Bears
Cameras
Documentary films
Motion picture directors & producers
Motion picture festivals
Scientists
Arctic region
ISSN:1751-8369, 0800-0395, 1751-8369
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This editorial reflects on deception in nature documentaries, ranging from trifling and, arguably, justifiable tricks to the outright hoaxes that gravely mislead viewers and damage public trust in science. Examples are drawn from Disney, BBC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other productions. Scientists who are asked to appear in nature documentaries are advised to proceed with caution and to safeguard their right to speak publicly about falsehoods and dupery in such productions. The availability of inexpensive video-fabricating applications raises the spectre of additional problems.
Bibliography:SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
content type line 14
ObjectType-Editorial-2
ObjectType-Commentary-1
ISSN:1751-8369
0800-0395
1751-8369
DOI:10.33265/polar.v44.13527