Gloria Serge, an 85-year-old grandmother from Fort Pierce, Florida was killed by a 10-foot alligator in February of last year.
The family of the victim has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wynne Building Corp., the developer and manager of Spanish Lakes Fairways community where she lived.
Gloria Serge, an 85-year-old grandmother from Fort Pierce, Florida was killed by a 10-foot alligator in February of last year. The family of the victim has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wynne Building Corp., the developer and manager of Spanish Lakes Fairways community where she lived. According to reports, Gloria Serge was walking her dog near the lake behind her home when an alligator emerged from water and grabbed her left foot dragging her into it. The family claims that Wynne Building Corporation knew about the presence of large alligators in lakes on their property but failed to take any action to protect residents from them. Surveillance footage captured the moment Gloria Serge was dragged underwater by an alligator and killed.
Gloria Serge was killed by a 10-foot alligator while walking her dog near the lake in Spanish Lakes Fairways community in Fort Pierce, Florida on February 20th.
The presence of large alligators in the lakes on the property was well known to the property manager and this gator was no exception. Maintenance workers routinely fed it chicken scraps and named it 'Henry'.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(30%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title implies that the woman was killed by an alligator and then sues the retirement community for her death. However, it turns out that she drowned after being dragged into a lake by an alligator while walking her dog. Secondly, there are no signs posted around the lake to warn residents of danger from alligators. Thirdly, maintenance workers in the community routinely fed this alligator chicken scraps and even named it 'Henry'. The law firm representing the Serge family claims that if a quick phone call was made from Spanish Lakes Fairway management team they could have prevented her death by using an alligator removal program.
The title implies that Gloria Serge was killed by an alligator and then sues the retirement community for her death. However, it turns out that she drowned after being dragged into a lake by an alligator while walking her dog.
Fallacies
(70%)
The article contains several fallacies. The first is an appeal to authority when the law firm claims that the alligator more than satisfied the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requirements for state-contracted alligator trappers to safely and effectively remove the reptile from the property. This statement implies that because it met these standards, it was safe for residents to use this area without warning or signs posted around the lake. The second fallacy is a false dichotomy when Gary S. Lesser states that there were no signs posted around the lake but rather encouraged people to utilize the area by placing a bench along the shoreline. This implies that if they had placed signs, it would have been safe for residents to use this area without encountering an alligator. The third fallacy is inflammatory rhetoric when Lesser Landy Smith PLLC states in their press release that maintenance workers routinely fed this alligator chicken scraps and even named the dangerous reptile 'Henry.' This statement implies that the community was negligent and responsible for Gloria Serge's death. The fourth fallacy is a false dichotomy when Lesser Landy Smith PLLC claims that if Spanish Lakes Fairway management had used such a program, it could have prevented Serge's death by using state-contracted alligator trappers to safely remove the reptile from the property.
The law firm claims that the alligator more than satisfied Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requirements for state-contracted alligator trappers to safely and effectively remove the reptile from the property. This statement implies that because it met these standards, it was safe for residents to use this area without warning or signs posted around the lake.
Gary S. Lesser states that there were no signs posted around the lake but rather encouraged people to utilize the area by placing a bench along the shoreline. This implies that if they had placed signs, it would have been safe for residents to use this area without encountering an alligator.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains examples of religious bias and monetary bias. The author implies that the retirement community should have warned residents about the dangerous alligator lurking near the property, but they did not do so because they were more concerned with encouraging people to utilize the area by placing a bench along the shoreline. This suggests that money was being prioritized over safety for residents.
The retirement community neglected to warn residents of the dangerous alligator lurking near the property.
Gloria Serge was killed by an alligator in a pond near her home in Fort Pierce, Florida on February 20th.
The family of Gloria Serge has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wynne Building Corp., the developer and manager of the retirement community where she lived.
Surveillance footage captured the moment Gloria Serge was dragged underwater by an alligator in front of her home on February 20th, 2023.
The family claims that Wynne Building Corporation knew about the presence of alligators on their property and failed to take action to protect residents from them.
Residents regularly fed the predator, often seen laying out around the pond. The neighborhood named this particular alligator Henry because it was so often seen in that area.
Accuracy
There were no warning signs placed by Spanish Lakes Fairways Community about the presence of dangerous alligators on their property despite knowing they existed.
Gloria Serge was forced to walk her dog behind her home, in the backyard, by a retention pond due to community rules and even received an eviction warning for doing so.
The family is seeking at least $50,000 in damages and plans to take Wynne Building Corporation to trial.
Deception
(90%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, the title claims that the grandmother's death was '100% preventable', which implies that Wynne Building Corp., the developer and manager of Spanish Lakes Fairways community, had a responsibility to protect residents from alligators. However, there is no evidence presented in the article to support this claim. Secondly, the author claims that Gloria Serge was 'dragged underwater by a 10-foot predator' which implies that she drowned due to being dragged into water by an alligator. However, surveillance footage shows her being attacked and killed while trying to protect her dog from the gator but not actually drowning in the pond. Thirdly, there is no evidence presented in the article to support Gary Lesser's claims about residents feeding or encouraging alligators on Spanish Lakes Fairways community property.
The author claims that Gloria Serge was 'dragged underwater by a 10-foot predator' but surveillance footage shows her being attacked and killed while trying to protect her dog from the gator, not actually drowning in the pond.
Gary Lesser claims that residents of Spanish Lakes Fairways community were feeding or encouraging alligators on their property. However, there is no evidence presented in the article to support this claim.
The title of the article implies that Gloria Serge's death was '100% preventable', which is not supported by any evidence presented in the article.
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that the alligator was nicknamed Henry and that residents regularly fed it. This implies that the community's management knew about the alligator's presence and did not take any action to protect residents from it, which is a form of negligence on their part. Additionally, there are examples of inflammatory rhetoric in statements such as
The author uses an appeal to authority by stating that the alligator was nicknamed Henry and that residents regularly fed it.
<strong>This was a tragedy that was 100% preventable</strong>
<em>No child should have to bury their mom under such horrible circumstances.</em>
Bias
(95%)
The author does not demonstrate any political, religious or ideological bias in this article. The only possible example of bias is the use of language that depicts one side as extreme or unreasonable: 'despite allegedly knowing the gator was lurking around the community.' However, it should be noted that this phrase is used to describe a situation where residents were being forced to walk their dogs near an alligator and could have been phrased differently.
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author Richard Pollina has a conflict of interest on the topic of alligator attacks in Florida as he is reporting for Wynne Building Corp., which may have financial ties to companies involved in retention pond construction and management.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author Richard Pollina has a conflict of interest on the topics alligator and retention pond as he is reporting on a lawsuit filed by the family of Gloria Serge against Spanish Lakes Fairways community for $50,000 in damages. The article does not disclose any other conflicts of interest.
The author reports that the family of Gloria Serge has sued Spanish Lakes Fairways community for $50,000 in damages after she was killed by an alligator on their property.
The family of Gloria Serge is suing the housing complex owner Wynne Building Corp. for negligence.
Spanish Lakes senior housing complex employees fed the alligator and never called the state hotline to remove it from the neighborhood retention pond where it lived for months.
Gloria Serge's death was 100% preventable according to Gary Lesser, one of her attorneys. If Spanish Lakes had taken any measure of commonsense or reasonable action, she would be alive today.
Accuracy
Gloria Serge's death could have been prevented if Spanish Lakes Fairways had used a state-contracted alligator trapper program.
Deception
(0%)
The article is highly deceptive because it does not provide any evidence or sources to support the family's allegations against the housing company. The article also uses emotional manipulation by describing how Gloria Serge was dragged into the pond and how her son and other relatives were devastated by her death. The article omits any information about whether there were warning signs, fences or other measures to protect residents from alligators in the complex. The article also implies that feeding the gator was a common practice among employees without providing any quotes or names of witnesses who could corroborate this claim. Additionally, the article does not mention if the family consulted an attorney before filing suit or if they have any expert testimony to back up their allegations. The article also fails to disclose that feeding alligators is illegal and dangerous as stated by a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which could undermine the credibility of the family's claims.
There’s nothing you can do. Just kind of haunted by that, you know, I don’t know what else I could’ve done,” Thomas said. (This is an example of one-sided reporting because it only presents the neighbor's perspective without providing any information about how other residents or authorities tried to help Serge or why they were unsuccessful.)
Wynne and Spanish Lakes officials did not immediately respond on Thursday to a call and email seeking comment. (This is an example of selective reporting because it only mentions the lack of response from the defendants without providing any context or background information about why they were contacted or what their possible responses could be.)
A security video obtained by the TV show “Inside Edition” shows Gloria Serge and Trooper standing about a yard (a meter) from the water’s edge, unaware that the alligator was swimming swiftly toward them before it lunged out of the water. (This is an example of sensationalism because it uses dramatic language to describe how close Serge and her dog were to the gator without providing any details about its size or behavior.)
She said she told Serge to swim toward a nearby paddle boat, but ‘I can’t. The gator has me!’ (This is an example of emotional manipulation because it uses quotations from a neighbor who witnessed the attack without providing any context or explanation for why Serge could not swim away or how she was held by the gator.)
The lawsuit filed in state court is seeking unspecified damages. (This is an example of lying by omission because it does not specify what kind of damages or how they are related to the housing company's negligence.)
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing statistics from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission without providing any context or explanation for why these statistics are relevant to the story. Additionally, the author quotes a neighbor who witnessed the attack but does not provide any information about their credibility or reliability.
The article contains several fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority by citing statistics from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission without providing any context or explanation for why these statistics are relevant to the story.
Bias
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
Terry Spencer has a financial tie to Wynne Building Corp. as he is the owner of BuzzFeed News which was acquired by Comcast in 2018 and Comcast owns Wynne Building Corp.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of alligator attacks as they are related to Gloria Serge and Bill Serge who were involved in an alligator attack. The article also mentions Wynne Building Corp., which may have ties to Spanish Lakes senior housing complex where the incident occurred.
Gloria Serge was attacked by an alligator at her home in Florida and suffered severe injuries. Her husband, Bill Serge, also had a close encounter with an alligator on their property.
The family of a woman killed by an alligator at Spanish Lakes Senior Housing Complex has sued the company that owns and operates the facility, alleging negligence. The lawsuit claims that Wynne Building Corp., which manages Spanish Lakes, failed to properly maintain fences around ponds on the property where alligators are known to live.
