Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'Fat Bear Week' Was Rocked By A Voting Fraud Scandal Because Apparently Nothing Is Sacred Anymore

large brown bear seated in forest
Rob Christiaans/Getty Images

The National Park Service's annual Fat Bear Week contest was fraught with controversy this year as people were shocked to find out election tampering occurred during the contest's voting.

The anticipated event is hosted online every year by Alaska's Katmai National Park where 12 brown bears are chosen to compete for the coveted title of bulkiest bear.


The contest's elimination style tournament consists of single head to head rounds where voters submit their choices via an internet poll.

This year's tourney tipped off on October 5.



The tournament progressed with the ursine competitors rising through the ranks or falling to the weigh-side.

However, during one of the semifinal rounds culprits are purported to have spammed the online voting system in a brazen attempt to influence the results.

Luckily, members of staff from explore.org quickly caught on to the issue before any damage could be done to bear reputations.

See the announcements below:


Suspicions of foul play arose after a bear contestant named 435 Holly appeared to make a miraculous comeback after trailing by 6,000 votes against her heavily favored opponent, 2020 champion 747.

Spokesperson Candace Rusch from explore.org, commented that 9,000 fake votes were leveraged to potentially sway the vote.

"While not unheard of, it is very uncommon for a bear to come back late in the day like that. We ended up finding just over 9,000 spam votes."
"There were some spam votes for 747 as well, maybe to throw us off?"

After the collusion was unearthed, Rusch explained fake votes were subsequently teased out and discarded from the voting system. The previous day's votes were then taken into account with 747 rightfully advancing to the final round.

For Rusch, the integrity of the contest is no small matter as every year tens of thousands of voters participate in its outcome.

Katmai National Park claims the yearly vote is a way to honor the brown bears that inhabit its ecosystem.

Many Fat Bear Week fans took to social media in celebration of this year's event.



Others stress the importance of the contest's awareness.


Despite this year's voting fiasco, Fat Bear Week's winner was announced on October 11.

In the lead up to the final decision there appeared to be a neck and neck showdown between former champ 747 and surprise newcomer 901.

The two behemoth bears both showcased considerable gains in body mass while making their biological preparations for hibernation over the Winter.

Ultimately, only one could be crowned winner and it was 747 who came home with the victory.

The fat bear veteran toppled his rookie adversary by a whopping 11,000 more online votes.

Katmai National Park also thanked the contest's spawn-sors.

Due to this year's circumstances, the winner was announced with assurances that zero tampering occurred during the final round of voting.

There seems to be no controversy over the results as many have since come out to celebrate 747's victory.

Although, the local salmon may still take issue.

More from Trending

Donald Trump
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Website Listing Pro-MAGA Businesses Epically Backfires As Critics Use It For Boycotts Instead

PublicSquare, a website which bills itself as “the anti-woke online marketplace" and offers a list of MAGA-friendly businesses, found its mission completely upended after critics instead used the site to fuel boycotts around the country.

The platform connects tens of thousands of businesses across the country that publicly align with MAGA views and oppose “progressive priorities” such as women’s reproductive rights and diversity initiatives. To list a business on the site, owners must first affirm that they will “respect the core values of PublicSquare” and agree not to “support causes that are in direct conflict with our core values.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Whoopi Goldberg and Alyssa Farah Griffin
ABC

'The View' Audience Horrified After Cohost Defends Trump's $5k 'Baby Bonus' To Boost Birth Rates

Things took a turn on The View during a chat about President Donald Trump's proposed "baby bonus" of $5,000 for women to boost birth rates after co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin—a former Trump administration appointee who bowed out in 2020 and condemned his supporters' attack on the U.S. Capitol—defended the move.

Earlier, The New York Timesreported that the Trump administration "has been hearing out a chorus of ideas in recent weeks for persuading Americans to get married and have more children" and that one proposal shared with aides "would give a $5,000 cash 'baby bonus' to every American mother after delivery."

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Fox News Just Aired A Disastrous Poll About President Trump—And It's A Big Yikes

President Donald Trump's approval ratings are in big trouble according to the latest Fox News poll, which shows that even a network known for being largely deferential to his administration can't spin Trump's falling popularity.

Trump’s approval rating has dipped below levels seen during his first term, with the poll showing growing voter dissatisfaction across most major issues. The poll, conducted April 18–21, found that just 44% of registered voters approve of his performance, while 55% disapprove—a 5-point drop since March and a point lower than his rating at the same stage in his first term.

Keep ReadingShow less
Child holding up hard boiled eggs to cover their eyes
Photo by Hannah Tasker on Unsplash

People Explain How 'The Weird Kid' In School Earned Their Reputation

When we look back at our middle school and high school years, we can all remember that one weird kid or group of weird kids.

But while some kids just seemed "weird" on the outside, there were some who really earned their reputation.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman holding a stethescope
a woman in a white shirt holding a stethoscope

Doctors Share The Scariest Thing A Patient Has Ever Said To Them

Being a doctor isn't for the faint of heart.

It requires an infinite amount of skill and intelligence, as well as a high tolerance for blood.

Keep ReadingShow less