A story circulating online claimed that a beluga whale escaped from a research facility in Seward, Alaska, to reunite with its calf. The narrative described the whale meticulously planning its escape and traveling hundreds of miles back to Cook Inlet to be with its young. Accompanying this story were images purportedly showing the whale leaping from its enclosure into the ocean.
However, this account is false. Investigations reveal no credible news reports from any reliable outlets about such an event, which would have garnered significant media attention if it were true.
The Alaska SeaLife Center, a marine research facility in Seward, addressed the fabricated story on its social media, confirming that the events described did not happen and that the accompanying images were generated by artificial intelligence. They clarified that while they do engage in beluga whale rehabilitation and research, this specific incident is untrue.
Further analysis by AI detection platforms indicated that the images were highly likely to be AI-generated, with one platform estimating an 82.6% probability. The accompanying text also showed signs of AI generation, though detection tools are not always definitive.
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