The insidious nature of deepfake content which causes us to question our own grip on reality has been proven by the latest AI hoax; a video of an orca Whale attacking its trainer.
The series of TikTok videos — which have racked up more than 87 million views between them — show trainer, Jessica Radcliffe, being brutally attacked by an orca whale that is performing in a pool at Pacific Blue Marine Park.
Many viewers were deceived by the footage, taking to the comments section to share their condolences and comment on the tragedy.
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“Why they don’t help and only watch her ?! Why?,” one person asked.
“Rip to Jessica Radcliffe,” another said, echoing the opinion of many others.
However, there is some tell-tale signs the footage isn’t real, including the fin of the whale morphing into a human leg in one video, and the other staff members on the side of the pool moving in complete unison.
There is no record of a whale trainer called Jessica Radcliffe online, no record of Pacific Blue Marine Park, and a story like this would have made national news.
The now-viral video unearths the uncomfortable question of how these videos are allowed to be published on social media.
According to Forbes, the problem can be the viewer because humans are attracted to the sensational.
In a dark twist, the video also seems to have been inspired by the real-life tragedy of Dawn Brancheau; the SeaWorld Trainer who was killed by an orca whale, Tillikum, on February 24 in 2010.
A report from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Commission outlines the details of what happened to Brancheau.
“Ms. Brancheau reclined on a platform located just a few inches below the surface of the water. Tilikum was supposed to mimic her behavior by rolling over onto his back, the report stated.
“Instead, Tilikum grabbed Ms. Brancheau and pulled her off the platform and into the pool. Ms. Brancheau died as a result of Tilikum’s actions.”
Like in the fake video, Brancheau was killed by the orca in the pool while the audience watched on in complete horror.
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