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Koi UFO Video 114 : Alien caught on tape in sewer in England (What not to flush) 

 

 

[DEBUNKED] Koi UFO Video 114 appears to show a strange alien creature in a sewer under Liverpool, England. That creature appears to have glowing eyes as it peers around a corner.

The video was featured on the website of a newspaper in Liverpool, The Liverpool Echo, on 1 April 2011 under the title "Merseyside sewer monster hunt, after mysterious beast seen on CCTV". One copy of the video uploaded to Youtube had over 1.6 million views as at May 2016.

In fact, the date of the upload was a clue to the true nature of this video. It was an April Fool's Day joke by a Liverpool newspaper (The Liverpool Echo) and a water company, United Utilities. The joke was admitted the following day, on 2 April 2011. Weeks later, the video appeared on some UFO websites in stories which completely ignored the admission of the joke.  Several years later, some people continue to leave comments on copies of the video on Youtube expressing opinions as to what the video shows (again, without referring to the admission of the joke...).

It remains to be seen whether this alien April Fool's Day joke continues to circulate after more than 50 years, as is the case with some previous April Fool's Day UFO hoaxes - such as Koi Alien Photo 01 and Koi Alien Photo 02 (both April Fool's Day hoaxes published in Germany in 1950 and both admitted to be a hoax a few days later, but which both continue to be included in UFO literature without any reference to the actual sources of the photos nor the admissions of a prank). 

Sections below:

1. The relevant video

2. Stories and claims relating to this video

3. The real background to this video

4. Relevant online discussions

 

 

1. The relevant video

Koi UFO Video 114 appears to show a strange alien creature in a sewer. The video has a caption on the top left of the screen which begins by stating "Reyner Street". In the second half of the video, the alien creature appears to have glowing eyes as it peers around a corner.

Screen shots from the video are included below for ease of identification:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Stories and claims relating to this video

This video was uploaded by United Utilities on 1 April 2011. On the same day, the video was featured on the website of a newspaper, The Liverpool Echo, in Liverpool in England.

The article on that newspaper's website was entitled "Merseyside sewer monster hunt, after mysterious beast seen on CCTV" and it included the following:

TODAY we reveal shocking CCTV footage of "Messie" – a freakish animal which is kicking up a stink in Merseyside’s sewers.

Terrified staff at North West water company United Utilities, whose close circuit cameras captured the mystery creature, said it was "far too big for a rat".

The public were today urged to sniff out the pipe prowler dubbed "the most unusual sighting ever".

...

Sewer workers have jokingly dubbed the creature "Messie" likening it to a dirty version of the Loch Ness Monster.

 

The video has also featured on various UFO websites, including in a story entitled "Strange Alien Recorded On FOUR Videos in UK Sewer Pipes, April 2011 UFO Sighting news" on a page on the UFO Sightings Daily website by Scott C Waring which states the following about this video.

 

 

 

3. The real background to this video

In fact, this video was an April Fool's Day joke. A water company, United Utilities, created the video as part of the water company’s "What Not To Flush" marketing campaign which used school visits, advertising and PR stunts to encourage customers to think before they flush. The Liverpool Echo promoted the stunt on 1 April 2011 as an April Fool's Day joke.

The joke was revealed by The Liverpool Echo on 2 April 2011 in an article entitled "We come clean after you fall for our sewer monster April Fool story" which included the following:

THE ECHO today came clean after floods of calls were received about our April Fool’s day story – about a sewer monster.

The story and clever camera and video trickery featured a fictitious character called Messie said to be lurking in Merseyside’s sewers.

United Utilities, which was behind the stunt, received more than 60 calls from customers falling for the gag.

The websites of both the ECHO and United Utilities also received thousands of hits with people wishing to view grainy footage of the so-called ‘monster’.

The hoax was all part of the water company’s What Not To Flush marketing campaign which uses school visits, advertising and PR stunts to encourage customers to think before they flush.

Rose Francis, United Utilities campaign manager, said: “It prompted a lot of calls from customers – some wanting to congratulate us on a fun idea and others wanting reassurance that the creature wasn’t real.”

But she said the “real monsters” of the sewers were the discarded items people flush away.

This is backed up by United Utilities figures which reveal nearly 70 % of households in the North West admit to having put unsuitable items such as toddler wipes, sanitary towels, cotton buds or nappies down the toilet, while less than 20% have a bin in their bathroom to dispose of these items properly.

 

The admission of an April Fool's Day prank was also covered by other local newspapers - such as the Manchester Evening News article entitled "United Utilities' sewer monster April Fool gag goes down the drain".

The admission on 2 April 2011 of an April Fool's Day prank was weeks BEFORE the video appeared on some UFO websites, in stories which completely ignored the admission of the joke...

Several years later, some people continue to leave comments on copies of the video on Youtube expressing opinions as to what the video shows (again, without referring to the admission of the prank...).

It remains to be seen whether this alien April Fool's Day joke continues to circulate after more than 50 years, as is the case with some previous April Fool's Day UFO hoaxes - such as Koi Alien Photo 01 and Koi Alien Photo 02 (both April Fool's Day hoaxes published in Germany in 1950 and both admitted to be a hoax a few days later, but which both continue to be included in UFO literature without any reference to the actual sources of the photos nor the admissions of a prank):

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

4. Relevant online discussions

Relevant discussions on discussion forums include the following:

2011 (April) discussion on ATS entitled "Monster (Alien) Seen In Sewer caught On Camera During Survey."

2016 (May) discussion on Reddit entitled "Anyone know if this is fake"