Exclusive | ‘Little Steve Irwin’ snatches up snakes, purposely gets bitten for fun

Nypost · Jun 06, 2026 · 610 words · By Sonya Gugliara

Youth Social Media Influence Sensationalism

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What to know about Youth Social Media Influence

US News exclusive ‘Little Steve Irwin’ snatches up snakes, purposely gets bitten for fun See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 2

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

US News exclusive ‘Little Steve Irwin’ snatches up snakes, purposely gets bitten for fun See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleHis fans say he’s the up-and-coming Steve Irwin.

Common ground

A fearless sixth grader manhandles snakes and purposely gets bitten on his jaw-dropping nature adventures in the rugged Ozarks of southern Missouri.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Youth Social Media Influence story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Using tweezers, he holds different wasps to his arm until they sting him?
How does this story connect Youth Social Media Influence with Sensationalism over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/06/us-news/little-steve-irwin-snatches-up-snakes-brav…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 4

verified Verified 3

verified Verified By Reference 2

help Insufficient Evidence 1

schedule Pending 1

verified

Claim 1: “Using tweezers, he holds different wasps to his arm until they sting him”

VERIFIED

The web search result 'Little Steve Irwin' snatches up snakes...' explicitly describes him using tweezers to hold wasps to his arm until they sting him.

verified

Claim 2: “the 12-year-old told The Post his risk-taking tactics that make most viewers wince are second nature to him.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for 'Elijah' consists of whiskey, a child with cancer, and biblical/historical figures. There is no specific evidence in the provided results confirming the age of the 'King of the Ozarks' Elijah.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elijah ( ih-LEYE-zhə or ih-LEYE-jə; Hebrew: אֵלִיָּהוּ, romanized: ʾĒlīyyāhu or אֵלִיָּה, ʾĒlīyyā, 'My God is Yahweh/YHWH') was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elijah Henry Just (born 1 May 2000) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell and the New Zealand national team. Just is New Zealand's al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Just

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Robert Poole, later Elijah Karriem; October 7, 1897 – February 25, 1975) was an American religious leader who led the Nation of Islam from 1933 until his death in 1975. Un…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Muhammad

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “Elijah, who goes by @King_Of_The_Ozarks online, hardly flinches when non-venomous snakes sink their teeth into his flesh.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results link the handle @King_Of_The_Ozarks to content involving snakes and wasps, and the context of the 'Little Steve Irwin' articles confirms the nature of the content.

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web search NEUTRAL — The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the longest venomous snake in the world, and it can inject very high volumes of venom in a single bite. The venom LD50 is 1.80 mg/kg SC according to Broad et al.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dangerous_snakes

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — King of the Ozarks/Instagram. Using tweezers, he holds different wasps to his arm until they sting him — only letting out a brief “ahh” in the aftermath before matter-of-factly explaining how it felt.
https://dnyuz.com/2026/06/07/little-steve-irwin-snatches-up-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Discover the non-venomous mole snake in Yzerfontein gardens.The rough green snake is definitely one of the most beautiful species of snake here in the U.S.! It’s a small non-venomous snake that has no…
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/do-non-venomous-snakes-bite

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Claim 4: “Elijah, who declined to give his last name, has 116,000 Instagram followers”

CORROBORATED

Three independent web search results explicitly state that @King_Of_The_Ozarks has over 116,000 followers on Instagram.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Instagram is an American photo and short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters, be organized by hashtags…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Instagram is a photo and video sharing social network service. Instagram may also refer to: "Instagram" (Dean song), 2017 "Instagram" (2019 song), 2019
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram_(disambiguation)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This list contains the top 50 accounts with the most followers on the social media platform Instagram. As of June 2026, Instagram's own account is the most-followed with over 685 million followers; th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most-followed_Instagra…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “Another clip shows Elijah jumping into a river and snatching up a giant Midland water snake.”

VERIFIED

The web search result 'Young Wildlife Enthusiast Handles Snakes with Confidence and...' explicitly mentions a clip of Elijah jumping into a river and snatching a giant Midland water snake.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Elijah (/ ɪˈlaɪ (d) ʒə / ih-LEYE-zhə or ih-LEYE-jə; Hebrew: אֵלִיָּהוּ, romanized: ʾĒlīyyāhu or אֵלִיָּה, ʾĒlīyyā, 'My God is Yahweh / YHWH '[a]) was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the nort…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sep 13, 2023 · Worst failures: Fearing Jezebel, Elijah flees into the desert and asks the Lord to take his life. He wrongly assumes that he is the Lord’s only prophet within the kingdom of Israel. Mea…
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-elijah-in-t…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 22, 2026 · The prophet Elijah is one of the most interesting and colorful people in the Bible, and God used him during an important time in Israel’s history to oppose a wicked king and bring reviv…
https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Elijah.html

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Claim 6: “A fearless sixth grader manhandles snakes and purposely gets bitten on his jaw-dropping nature adventures in the rugged Ozarks of southern Missouri.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results from different sources (AOL and another wildlife enthusiast article) confirm a sixth grader in the Ozarks of southern Missouri handles snakes and purposely gets bitten.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Parts of three smaller tributaries to the Osage are included in the impo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_of_the_Ozarks

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ozark is a city in and the county seat of Christian County, Missouri, United States, that is on Finley Creek. Its population was 21,284 as of the 2020 census. Ozark is also the third largest city in …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozark,_Missouri

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, are a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the south…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozarks

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 7: ““Every 10,000 followers I get stung by a new wasp!” his Instagram bio reads.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results that explicitly quotes the Instagram bio regarding the 10,000 followers/wasp sting rule.

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Claim 8: “After his previous video, he had gained 250 followers in 24 hours, so he let the snake bite him 25 times.”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search results (both titled 'Little Steve Irwin' snatches up snakes...') explicitly state he gained 250 followers in 24 hours and let the snake bite him 25 times.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jun 6, 2026 ... After his previous video, he had gained 250 followers in 24 hours, so he let the snake bite him 25 times. His wilderness escapades aren't ...
https://nypost.com/2026/06/06/us-news/little-steve-irwin-sna…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — After his previous video, he had gained 250 followers in 24 hours, so he let the snake bite him 25 times. His wilderness escapades aren't limited to ...
https://www.aol.com/articles/little-steve-irwin-snatches-sna…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Aug 22, 2025 ... I've seen snake bites and old stubborn country folk shake it off. Was their faith stronger? God says, I'm not mocked. Thank You Jesus Christ ...
https://www.facebook.com/allengparr/posts/mark-161718-says-b…

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Claim 9: “Elijah said the first time he got bitten he was around 9 years old and it was an accident.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 10: “In one video, a North American black racer pounces at the camera before Elijah holds up the slithering reptile and lets it bite him.”

VERIFIED

The web search result 'Young Wildlife Enthusiast Handles Snakes with Confidence and...' explicitly describes the video of a North American black racer pouncing and Elijah letting it bite him.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elijah Clarke (1742 – December 15, 1799) was an American military officer and Georgia legislator.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Clarke

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 11: “He recently took on one snake bite for every 10 new followers he got for 12 days.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While there is evidence of him getting bitten for followers (Claim 7), the specific '12-day challenge' and 'one bite for every 10 followers' detail is not explicitly confirmed in the provided evidence snippets.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.