In recent times, the internet has been abuzz with a photograph purportedly showing an island in Norway shaped like a cat’s face, claimed to be named Bergenaq. This image has gained considerable attention and been widely circulated.
Some viral Facebook posts with this claim can be found here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), and here (archive).
A X post with this claim can be found here (archive).
Fact Check
Investigations conducted by the Rumor Scanner team have conclusively determined that there is no island named Bergen in Norway, a country in Scandinavia. Instead, Bergen refers to a city. The image in question was digitally crafted by an artist named Fabien Barrau using Photoshop and does not exist in the real world.
The investigation began with keyword searches to verify the existence of an island named Bergen in Norway. It was established that no such island exists; however, Bergen is indeed a city in Norway, recognized as the country’s second-largest.
Rumor Scanner team utilized Google Earth to scrutinize the satellite imagery of Bergen city, aiming to verify if the urban layout corresponds with the widely circulated image.
The findings revealed that the city of Bergen in Norway does not match the circulated image, which was falsely claimed to depict Bergen Island.
Further investigation into the origin of the viral photo, using reverse image search, led to a July 4, 2018, Instagram post by Fabien Barrau. The post, captioned “Welcome to Cat Island !! 😸 Here, cats live free like kings,” bears a striking similarity to the disputed image.
Upon reviewing the photo, it was confirmed that it matched the one circulated online, purported to be of Bergen Island. The caption indicated that Fabien Barrau created the image using Photoshop.
Further examination of Barrau’s account revealed him to be an artist. He also identifies as the Head of Print & Concept for an Instagram account under the username millchannel, associated with a creative production house called The Mill.
Additionally, Barrau has produced and shared several Photoshop creations on his account over time. These artistic works can be viewed here, here, here, and here.
Bottom Line
Originally created by artist Fabien Barrau in 2018, the digitally crafted image of a cat-shaped island was designed as a conceptual artwork envisioning a sanctuary for homeless cats. However, this artwork was later mistakenly disseminated online as a depiction of an actual island named Bergen in Norway. Upon thorough investigation by the Rumor Scanner team, it was confirmed that there is no island named Bergen in Norway. In reality, Bergen refers to a city, and its physical layout does not match the image.
So, the claim that this image depicts an actual island named Bergen in Norway is false.
Sources
- Google Earth: Bergen – Google Maps
- Fabien Barrau Instagram Account: Welcome to Cat Island !! 😸 Here, cats live free like kings. . All abandoned & homeless cats in the world are welcomed, cared for and… | Instagram
- The Mill Instagram Account: https://www.instagram.com/millchannel?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Rumor Scanner’s own investigation
