The internet is filled with funny animal videos. But are some of these cute puppy and kitten videos fake?
That’s what many people are asking themselves after the release of OpenAI’s new Sora video generator. While there are still numerous bugs that need to be worked out, to the average viewer, the video looks stunningly normal.
Consequently, the internet has become filled with videos that appear real, but as actually generated by AI like Sora or Google’s Veo.
It’s also meant that many people seeing a new video online aren’t sure if it’s real or fake. This debate happened recently after a video of a possum being scared by a Halloween animatronic went viral. Is it real?
Is This Video Of A Possum Getting Scared Real?
The video, which currently has an impressive 103 million views on TikTok, appears to be surveillance footage of a front porch. In the video, a bowl of candy can be seen, and a possum appears to be eating from it.
After a few seconds, the Halloween decoration is activated, causing the possum to jump up and run away.
“I didn’t know possums could move so fast!” writes the TikToker in the caption.
The problem is that the possum, and all of the other parts of the video, are not real.
How Can You Tell This Possum Video Is Fake?
There are a few ways one can tell that this possum video is fake. Discovering these signs may help you spot other AI-generated videos in the future.
First, if one looks at the time code on the top of the video, the date does not make sense. Additionally, the time does not count evenly. Difficulty processing text is a common failure of AI.
Next, part of the video is blurred, then the blur disappears. While there are several issues that could cause this, it’s likely that this blur was added to obfuscate the logo of an AI video generator like Sora.
Additionally, users on Reddit have pointed out that there doesn’t appear to be a Halloween decoration for sale matching this description.
Furthermore, it should be noted that possums don’t really jump. Instead, they pass out—making the events of this video incredibly improbable.
Finally, if one is uncertain about whether a video is truly AI-generated, they can look at the account posting it. In this case, most of the videos on the account appear AI-generated, and the account advertises itself as the “Original creator…of the ‘Candy Flight’ viral craze!’” This appears to refer to the possum video.
Commenters Believe It
While discussion on other websites comes to the conclusion that the video is fake, commenters under the original TikTok were convinced of its veracity.
“That’s sad though. Poor little guy was just hungry,” wrote a user.
“Thats the first time I’ve see a possum get genuinely freaked out instead of playing ded,” offered another.
“Aren’t possums supposed to play dead, this guy took flight,” said a third.
@bouncebreakprotocol I didn’t know possums could move so fast! 😂😂😂
♬ original sound – bouncebreakprotocol – bouncebreakprotocol
Why Are There So Many Fake Animal Videos Like This?
The answer is more than likely the video’s view count. As noted by Mashable, AI-generated animal videos do really well on the internet. Plus, there’s been a significant increase in these fake videos since the releases of Veo and Sora.
Virality comes with a paycheck. Generating AI-content is low cost, and if one of your AI pieces goes viral, social media platforms will pay the original poster.
As explained by 404media, this has resulted in people from developing countries churning out AI content in hopes that one of them will go viral and net them a significant payday.
The Creator Responds
In an email to BroBible, the creator of the video, who referred to himself only as “Phil,” explained why he thinks the video worked so well, even if it didn’t technically make sense.
“First off, opossums don’t even really jump. They don’t react remotely like that when scared. That’s what makes it so funny,” he explained. “When gravity and physics is slight off in a video, it’s instantly more entertaining (comedically). Even in the title of the video, calling it a ‘Possum’ instead of an ‘Opossum,’ which is what the video is actually is depicting. I love that almost nobody noticed that, it’s an entirely different animal. Intentional flaws that slip by are so fun. Note, no real animals are actually used in these videos, I think that pretty obvious.”
While the words “opossum” and “possum” technically refer to different animals, they are used interchangably in North American English, as noted by Merriam-Webster.
The creator continued by confirming that the video is AI, saying that the technology has caused us to enter “a new paradigm shift in entertainment as a whole.”
“Magic is entertainment,” he wrote. “When Méliès was shown the cinematograph by the Lumière brothers in 1895 in Paris, he was quoted as saying it was ‘a moving magic trick.’ From then on, magic was forever changed (Le Voyage dans la Lune, 1902). And now, exactly 130 years later, it’s happening again.”
What Inspired These Videos?
As for these videos themselves, he refrained from getting into too many specifics about the inspiration.
“Halloween is coming,” he shared. “I started calling these videos ‘candy flight’ videos. After my original video went viral a lot of people are copying the idea now, and that’s perfectly fine. I’m working on some new viral content. Hopefully it will make as many people laugh as the ‘possum’ video did!