Digital Literacy and Information Fluency

Animal Planet Mermaids being discovered

Digital Footprints

A digital footprint is the data that is left behind by users on digital services. There are two main classifications for digital footprints: passive and active. A passive digital footprint is created when data is collected without the owner knowing, whereas active digital footprints are created when personal data is released deliberately by a user for the purpose of sharing information about oneself by means of websites or social media.

Purpose of the site and series

• Mermaids: The Body Found is a story about evolutionary possibility grounded in a radical scientific theory - the Aquatic Ape Theory, which claims that humans had an aquatic stage in our evolutionary past. Animal Planet brings viewers into the world where the legend is real. The film blends real-life events and phenomena with the story of two scientists who testify they found the remains of a never-before-identified sea creature.

The process

• MERMAIDS: THE BODY FOUND makes a strong case for the existence of the mermaid, a creature with a surprisingly human evolutionary history, whose ancestral branch splits off from a shared human root. The film is science fiction, using science as a springboard into imagination and centering the story on the following real-world events

The public’s response

• The people believe that Animal Planet has lost *all* credibility. Animal Planet aired two fake documentaries claiming to show scientific evidence of mermaids. The “scientists” interviewed in the show are actors, and there’s a brief disclaimer during the end credits.

The veracity of the series

• The show's executive producer Charlie Foley said they wanted people to think it was real and made it into a documentary-style program.
  

 My opinion of the success or lack thereof of Animal Planet’s campaign

• I think that people are taking this too seriously. I at first thought this was a true documentary with real scientists and authentic video footage. I was very excited and was firmly convinced that mermaids were real. I still believe that it could be a possibility.

How did Animal Planet use the information fluency process?

Ask - animal planet asks questions that make us doubt our knowledge and ask further questions about certain topics in this case doubting what we know about the oceans and the survival of 'mermaids'.

Acquire - Animal planet choose videos to portray their videos to the public in the clearest possible way.

Analyse - This is where animal planet formulate the information in order to motivate viewers to continue viewing the series and even consider trusting the information they are providing you with.

Apply - This is simply using the information that you have gained in a constructive manner in order to create a new leg for society to stand on and generate new forms of information.

Assess - This step is needed to gain a clear view of what you did wrong, take feedback from the target audience and apply it to make the site better.