Man says he was kidnapped by dolphins as slave labour, and that’s not even the craziest part

Here are some words I never thought I’d read, let alone write: A man in America has claimed he was kidnapped by a dolphin called Gerald and forced to build an underwater city.

Sometimes, stories – whether they be real or fabricated – go viral for the simple fact that they’re unhinged. The American woman in Pakistan comes to mind, as does the woman who fell in love with her therapist.

Gerald the dolphin has got them all beat.

It all started when Ricky James Hollowell washed up on a beach

@wysileenator

#gerald #geraldthedolphin #dolphin #fypシ

♬ Take Me to the King (feat. Kirk Franklin) – Tamela Mann

Right, first off, I’m hoping you can see this story for what it is: Completely made up. It’s the sort of cr*p your mum falls for on Facebook, but due to the sheer virality of the claims, it’s spiralled out of control. It’s since made its way to practically every social media platform, with one post on TikTok having seven million views.

It all started on spoof Facebook pages earlier this month. A man, identified as Ricky James Hollowell, apparently washed up on the beach in Florida.

“According to the police report, Ricky James Hollowell, 33, was found barefoot, severely sunburned, and wearing only swim trunks. He told deputies he had been ‘taken against his will by a pod of dolphins three days ago’ and forced to work on what he called ‘an underwater construction project,'” the false report read.

The pod of dolphins, commanded by a foreman called Gerald, “escorted him to a site approximately 40 feet below the surface”, where they needed help building structures.

You see, the dolphins were building a city. Detailed blueprints showed plans for condos, a town square, and a recreation centre.

Now, here’s the moment you might be wondering how Ricky communicated with the dolphins or even breathed underwater. The report had an answer for that, claiming that Gerald taught Ricky their language.

When asked how he breathed underwater for three days, fake Ricky told the police: “Gerald handled that. I didn’t ask questions. You don’t question Gerald.”

Once the dolphins were happy with Ricky’s work, they dumped him on the beach whilst stating “they’d be back for phase two.”

The post went mega viral, with the lore expanded

Over the coming days, the story was shared, reangled, and spread across the internet. Before long, lore was created for Gerald and his kidnapping gang. One Facebook post even claimed that Gerald was radicalised on Epstein’s island.

On TikTok, people shared AI renderings of Gerald and the other dolphins. Others created videos of Ricky being forced to build the city underwater.

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It’s ridiculous and stupid, but the internet can’t look away.

I think I’ve met Gerald. He’s 100% a dolphin but he has this GI JOE face if you look at him with dolphin vision. He’s like the dolphin Ron Perlman. Very “get it done” attitude about him. Hope he’s doing well. https://t.co/Vlo8PqoyF4 pic.twitter.com/p0jysvA6hc

— Wissa (@Wissa_YT) March 11, 2026

Experts spoke out about Gerald the dolphin

Speaking to Life Hacker, literal dolphin expert Justin Gregg was forced to reject the notion that dolphins can build cities, kidnap people, and have normal human names.

“No. It’s insane. Absolutely not,” he said when asked if “dolphins use humans for construction projects in aquatic environments.”

When asked if he knew Gerald personally, Justin responded: “Nobody knows Gerald, because Gerald does not exist.”

Wow. Touchy much?

@thegeraldfiles

“Gerald and mayor flipper set the records straight” #geraldthedolphin #dophin #aitiktok #fyp #underwaterworld

♬ original sound – TheGeraldFiles

The real police issued a real statement about the dolphin kidnapping

The story continued to spiral, so much so that the real police in Florida were forced to respond to lingering questions about the dolphin kidnap case.

On Facebook, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office wrote: “While living in Lee County is paradise – we can confidently confirm the underwater real estate market has not been tapped into…yet. We checked with our newly implemented Underwater Construction Investigation Team and learned the dolphins of our oceans deny any involvement.”

“Disclaimer: No dolphins were harmed in the making of this rumour.”

I smell a cover-up.

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Featured image credit: Canva/Facebook