A July 30 Facebook post claiming a tractor-trailer overturned near Casper, Wyoming, unleashing thousands of king cobras, went viral and caught the attention of local law enforcement.
“Semi Truck Accident on I-25 Near Casper Releases Hundreds of King Cobras,” the title of the post published by “Casper Planet” says.
“In an extraordinary turn of events, a semi truck carrying a shipment of king cobras from a scientific research lab overturned on Interstate 25 near Casper early this morning, releasing hundreds of the venomous snakes onto the highway,” the post continues.
In the 24-hour period after the post was published, Google Trends data shows people were searching for terms like “king cobras Wyoming” and “king cobra crash.”
We looked into whether or not the post shed any truth.
THE QUESTION
Did a tractor-trailer full of king cobras spill on a Wyoming highway?
THE SOURCES
- Justin Hathaway, the founder of Casper Planet
- Wyoming State Highway Patrol
THE ANSWER
No, a tractor-trailer full of king cobras didn’t spill on a Wyoming highway. A Facebook post that started the rumor is satire.
WHAT WE FOUND
A tractor-trailer didn’t dump hundreds of snakes on a Wyoming highway after overturning. The rumor came from a Facebook post made by Casper Planet, a satirical page. Casper Planet updated their original post noting the story is fake.
The Wyoming Highway State Patrol also dispelled the rumors on Facebook.
“We would like to clarify that a commercial vehicle carrying cobras did NOT overturn on I-25 near Casper. There is no danger to the public and I-25 is open. Please stay calm and rely on official sources for accurate information. Thank you for your attention and cooperation,” Wyoming State Highway Patrol’s July 30 post said.
“I was definitely shocked the police had to post about it,” Justin Hathaway, the founder of Casper Planet, told VERIFY. “They definitely have better things to do than deal with imaginary cobras.”
The Casper Planet identifies itself as satire and writes on its Facebook profile that the page is “satire, humor, satire and opinion, names/locations are made up.” When VERIFY sent a direct message to the page, we received an auto-reply that said, “Thank you for contacting Casper Planet, we will be with you shortly …also, we are satire if you are asking, we get that a lot.”