Close encounter or social media stunt?
Terrifying close encounter or another social media fake?
A Sydney-based fitness club has posted an image showing what appears to be a scary close encounter with a giant shark in the waters off Bondi, but speculation is already swirling that it may not be all that it seems.
Bondi Fit posted the photo to its Instagram account a week ago but the image was immediately met with claims it was a fake.
“Is this real?” asked one user while another said: “crap. All too familiar.”
If the image is faked, it would not be the first time Instagram has been the home to a close encounter of the false kind.
Earlier this year a young surfer became a viral hit when he posted a selfie alongside a great white shark.
17-year-old Alex Hayes posted his photo on his social media accounts in June showing him casually on his surfboard at Clontarf Beach as a shark swam up beside him.
The shot was picked up by media outlets around the country, prompting Alex to declare that it had been forged.
"I thought it was obvious," he told Fairfax Media.
"It was just meant to be a massive joke. People started to take it a bit literally ... it just goes to show how things just go viral."
But Bondi Fit is sticking by its story.
Personal trainer Spot Anderson told the Daily Mail the photograph had been taken while diving off of Bondi Beach.
“It seems the shark was on the beach side of the nets as I was on the sea side,” he said.
Mr Anderson said he had not noticed the shark at the time of the dive.
There have been plenty of very real close-calls caught on video, mesmerising viewers the world over.
Epic video of a great white shark missile launching in surprise breach
A great white shark made a surprise breach, to the somewhat anxious delight of people on board on a boat nearby.
Shark Swiftly Swims Towards Boat
These guys thought they were safe from the hammerhead shark that was harassing them earlier. Unfortunately, it came back swimming swiftly towards them.
Incredible shark rescue caught on camera
A group of divers have helped an injured Port Jackson shark after it swam up to them in Sydney's Botany Bay.
Beachgoers try to save washed up shark
A group of brave American beachgoers have tried in vain to save a stranded great white shark by digging up a trench to take water to it before dragging it back into the sea.
Great white shark jumps to catch seal
A great white shark is caught on video jumping out of the water trying to catch a seal off Cape Cod in Massachusetts.
