PHOENIX — Each day people scroll through a wide variety of photos and videos online. However, one video on TikTok has caught the attention of nearly 1 million users.
The 15-second video claims a tiger at the Phoenix Zoo was shot for appearing too human-like. If you've seen it, you know it's almost too wild to believe. And it's true. The video is fake and has most likely been manipulated using AI technology.
However, what gives it away?
To answer that question, 12News went to people who would know. That includes Joaquin Hidalgo, the Marketing Communications Coordinator at the Phoenix Zoo, and Dr. Subbarao Kambhampati, an ASU Professor who studied AI for more than 40 years.
"Some people genuinely asked us does this happen?" said Hidalgo.
Hidalgo says the Phoenix Zoo recently became aware of this video after people reached out about it. He explained the image and the details shared in the clip don't pertain to their tigers.
"So pretty much the entire information that was displayed was false," Hidalgo said. "It stated we had a tiger named Eko, we've never had a tiger named Eko. It also stated they are Malayan tigers we don't have Malayan Tigers here at the Phoenix Zoo, we have Sumatran Tigers."
The information shared in the video most likely is about Eko, a tiger at the Naples Zoo in Florida that was shot in 2021 after biting the arm of a maintenance worker. Officials believe the worker stuck his arm in the cage and provoked the animal. The tiger has no relation to the Phoenix Zoo.
"So it's important when you see posts like this, verify it," Hidalgo said.
"It was not at all that professionally made, honestly," Dr. Kambhampati said. "In fact, it was clear the background was made, it was all washed out."
Dr. Kambhampati says while it's easy to see the inaccuracies in this particular video, others may not be so easy to spot. And with more AI-generated content being posted on social media, you have to pay close attention to the details.
"One thing you look for are tiny imperfections," he said. "Such as eyes, one eye being a different color than the other, maybe you have one earing on one ear but not the other. The other thing is the number of fingers. It turns out these systems currently have some trouble in counting things correctly. They don't put three eyes but they'll maybe put six fingers."
That also means knowing where it's coming from.
"Pretty much anything you watch on unvetted sources you have to be skeptical about especially if it's a thing you're more likely to believe," he said.
So we can Verify, everything you see in the video is fake. And while the story is true, it has no affiliation with Phoenix Zoo and it wasn't shot for looking too human.
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