Fact Check

Does a Pic Show Real White Bats?

"These are white bats and they look like Pomeranians with wings," one tweet purported.

Published May 31, 2023

 (Etsy / ArtistYANAFEDOROVA)
Image Via Etsy / ArtistYANAFEDOROVA
Claim:
A photograph showing three, white bats depicts actual living creatures.

On May 31, 2023, a Twitter meme account posted a picture of three adorable, white bats with the caption: "These are white bats and they look like pomeranians with wings."

While they may or may not look like Pomeranians with wings, the photographs depict a collection of stuffed, white bat dolls for sale on Etsy.

The pictures come from the Etsy shop of "ArtistYANAFEDOROVA" and are made of felt with a wire frame:

White bats do exist in nature, though. One example is the Honduran white bat, whose fur also has tinges of yellow. Other white bats can form through rare, genetic mutations that cause albinism.

Because the picture depicts bat dolls and not real animals, we rate this claim as "Miscaptioned."

Sources

Rare White Bat. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqfE6YpsERA. Accessed 31 May 2023.

Rodríguez-Herrera, Bernal, et al. "Sexual Dichromatism and Condition-Dependence in the Skin of a Bat." Journal of Mammalogy, vol. 100, no. 2, Apr. 2019, pp. 299–307. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz035.

Three White Bats/Gothic Bat/Halloween/Flying - Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1222889680/three-white-batsgothic. Accessed 31 May 2023.

White Baby Bat/Halloween/Flying - Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1338998013/white-baby-bathalloweenflying. Accessed 31 May 2023.

White Bat/Gothic Bat/Halloween/Flying - Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/978130028/white-batgothic-bathalloweenflying. Accessed 31 May 2023.
 

Alex Kasprak is an investigative journalist and science writer reporting on scientific misinformation, online fraud, and financial crime.