A school in Gloucestershire, in the west of England, was closed for several days due to an “invasion of poisonous spiders”. Experts claimed they were not aggressive, but the school was closed, alarm spread and some media outlets were quick to call them “eight-legged monsters”.
In another case, the alleged severity of a spider bite on a woman triggered alarm in Mallorca (Spain). Social networks were flooded with messages and photographs of bites. Although the Conselleria de Salut and the leading hospital on the islands made it public that there was no health alarm and experts explained that no dangerous spiders are present in Mallorca, messages continued for days and days on social media.
