Company Admits Viral Video Was Faked

A video showing iconic British TV weatherman Michael Fish BASE jumping from a building in the UK was faked, according to some media sources in the UK and finally admitted by the clothing company that staged the stunt.

Fish had reportedly teamed up with Rapanui Clothing for the stunt, which quickly went viral on the Internet. The company issued a news release touting the jump, and promoting its environmental stance. "The Michael Fish BASE Jump was a great opportunity for us to spread awareness of climate change - it is a serious issue and requires serious action; if a 68 yr old weatherman can jump off a building to spread the word, we can all at least turn off the light switch when we leave the room or think about sustainability when we vote with our wallets," the release said.

There was even a quote from Fish. "Raising awareness of climate change is really important, because there is no doubt whatsoever that if we carry on the way we are, there will be shortages of food, shortages of water, towns and cities will be flooded, there's all sorts of chaos that could arise, in fact some of it is already happening," Fish said. "We have to do something about it now, not wait until it's too late. If some of us have to make sacrifices, like risking our lives by jumping off buildings, then so be it."

But The New Statesman newspaper reports that Fish did not jump off the building. In the video, Fish is shown at the top of the building, and seen again at the bottom, but the actual jump is shot from a distance, and the paper reports that it was carried out by an experienced BASE jumper named Dan Witchalls. The Guardian newspaper reportedly took down the video after questions were raised about its authenticity.

In a comment posted on the New Statesman website, Rapanui said the news release was written "straight", but that anyone researching the story or watching the video closely would have known it was fake. They said that they didn't think it was necessary to originally point out it was a spoof because it was so outrageous.

FMI: www.rapanuiclothing.com/fish