Experts warned that AI-generated visuals of wildlife could result in exploitation, the latest example of which is fabricated footage of a whale nursing its calf in the ocean. A marine science professor told AFP the clip is “completely implausible” and contradicts the anatomy, behaviour and physiology of the marine animal.
“Do you know? This is how blue whales nurse their calves underwater,” reads part of the Indonesian-language caption of a video posted August 13, 2026 on TikTok.
“Why doesn’t whale milk mix with the sea?” says the text overlay.
Screenshot of false post, captured August 19, 2026, with AI label and red X mark added by AFP.
The video was also shared in posts written in English, Arabic, Turkish, Hindi and Spanish — with many social media users appearing to believe it shows genuine wildlife footage.
“Masyallah, the power of God is present in all of His creations,” reads one comment to a Facebook post.
“By the power of Allah SWT, milk and water do not mix,” says another.
However, the clip is inauthentic and part of a wave of AI-generated wildlife visuals that conservationists say endanger animals and people.
AI fakery
Genuine visuals of whales feeding their young are rare and difficult to film (archived here and here).
“The last thing we want is to disturb whales while we’re studying them, especially mom-calf pairs, especially nursing, when baby is getting much-needed nutrition,” Kathleen Hunt, an associate professor at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institut, told AFP on August 12 ( archived link).
The circulating video is “ludicrous”, she said, adding what it depicts is “completely implausible based on anatomy, physics, behaviour and physiology”.
Hunt pointed out several features of the whale in the video that are erroneous.
“The eye is too high up, the lower jaw is the wrong shape,” she said.
Whale calves “put their mouths directly on the mom’s teat when nursing” and “don’t bite at a wiggling sheet of milk,” she added, contrary to the video’s depiction.
“Whale milk wouldn’t hold together like that in seawater,” she continued.
An analysis of the video using Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, found it was “likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content”.
Screenshot of the Hive Moderation analysis result, taken on August 18, 2026, with AI label added by AFP
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video found the footage was posted on Instagram on May 26, 2026 in an account that describes itself as an “AI creator” ( archived link). The video was also uploaded on the same day on the user’s Facebook account ( archived link).
The bottom-right corner of the clip bears a watermark for OpenArt.ai, a platform for creating AI-generated content ( archived link).
Screenshot comparison of circulated AI video from the false post (L) and video from the AI-creator Facebook account
The Instagram account shares hundreds of AI-generated marine animals on its feed; some of them gained millions of views, including the “nursing whale” one.
Screenshot of Instagram account that shared AI-generated content of marine animals, with the “nursing whale” clip and “AI creator” description highlighted by AFP
Hyper-realistic visuals of wild animals behaving like pets, or even like humans, can distort public perceptions of wildlife and harm conservation efforts, AFP previously reported.
A September 2025 study in the journal Conservation Biology concluded that the rapid spread of AI misinformation and its potential to harm environmental efforts is a “major threat” to society ( archived link).