The program included a brief disclaimer in the end credits identifying it as a work of fiction, though critics argued it was too brief and easily missed by viewers.
: The show heavily relied on the Aquatic Ape Theory , a real but controversial evolutionary hypothesis, to provide a sense of "intellectual possibility" for the existence of mermaids. Mermaids: The New Evidence
: Characters like Dr. Paul Robertson, portrayed as whistleblowers, were actually played by actors. The program included a brief disclaimer in the
The program was a "docufiction" or mockumentary produced by as a sequel to Mermaids: The Body Found . It used a blend of real-world phenomena and fabricated narratives to create a persuasive story: : It linked the fictional discovery to the
While the storytelling in was convincing enough to break ratings records, the "evidence" it presented was entirely fictional.
: It linked the fictional discovery to the "Bloop," a real underwater sound recorded by the NOAA in 1997, which scientists have since attributed to icequakes, not marine life.
: The story was so effective that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was forced to release an official statement clarifying that no evidence of aquatic humanoids has ever been found .