Loch Ness Monster debate envelopes Twitter after tourist shares photos of large aquatic creature
On Wednesday, June 24, Twitter was abuzz with talks of a mythical creature. “Loch Ness Monster” was trending on the social media website with thousands of people tweeting about this creature that originated from Scottish folklore.
Why were people suddenly interested in “Nessie”, as the creature is often referred to by diehard believers? Well. It was all thanks to a man taking a closer look at some old holiday photographs from Scotland. According to reports, Steve Challice, who was holidaying at Urquhart Castle, that’s beside Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland, took some photos of the ripples in the lake’s water.
Challice said that it wasn’t until he was stuck in the coronavirus lockdown that he had time to go through the photos. In one of them, he spotted the strange creature. Intrigued, he shared it on Facebook, writing, “Took this in Loch Ness last September but I don't know what kind of fish it is.”
Soon enough, however, the post went viral and people began debating whether or not this was an accidental capture of the mythical creature. Whether or not the photo captured a normal aquatic creature, the Loch Ness Monster, or was simply photoshopped, the internet embraced this as yet another outcome of a year where things had not gone according to anyone’s plans.
“2020 gonna 2020, y'all. Loch Ness Monster? Sure, why not,” wrote a Twitter user, echoing a sentiment expressed by many. Another wrote, “The fact that The Loch Ness Monster is the most tamed thing 2020 has thrown at us.”
Many, also made this political. For example, one Twitter user said, “So first the witches, Amish, and Satanists came out to join the protests, and now we got the Loch Ness Monster on deck? Our deep sea queen said defund the police,” talking about the Black Lives Matter protests across the U.S. calling out systemic racism and police violence.
Others had a more complicated reaction. When names trend on social media, the first reaction of many is to either assume the person has died or that they have been embroiled in something bad. In that spirit, several users on Twitter said things like, “Saw Loch Ness Monster trending and was afraid something had happened to it.” More still saw this as a sign of what was to come.
2020 has seen things escalating every month, from the coronavirus pandemic to monster wasps to locusts and more. So, the obvious conclusion many came to was: “The Loch Ness Monster sighting is to get us ready for the alien invasion we’re about to get in July.”