Philippine “mermaid” photographs and mass-media hoaxes

Record summary

Filipino newspapers, television programs and chain messages periodically circulated purported mermaid or aquatic-humanoid photographs during the 1990s and 2000s. The lead is valuable precisely because many such images were later identified as sculptures, artwork, taxidermy, staged props or recycled international hoaxes. It allows comparison of creature taxonomy, visual authority and the speed of image recirculation before social media fully matured. Each image requires separate identification; “Philippine mermaid” is not one event. Researchers should preserve the debunking history alongside the original publication context.