The Jessica Radcliffe Orca Attack Video Is Fake, But Why Is It Even On TikTok?
TENERIFE, SPAIN – 2022/05/17: An orca or killer whale (Orcinus orca) showing its teeth pictured in its enclosure at Loro Parque zoo aquarium. (Photo by Marcos del Mazo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
LightRocket via Getty Images
Viral videos can take many forms, and not all of them are real. A recent example? There’s a Jessica Radcliffe orca attack video that has popped up on TikTok and Facebook recently, but it’s entirely fake. In fact, there isn’t an orca trainer named Jessica Radcliffe, according to multiple sources.
In the video, which I haven’t watched because it is apparently gruesome in nature, an orca trainer is attacked and killed. The hoax was generated by AI and has all of the signs of being computer generated, starting with the fact that the story would have made national news.
Most AI-generated videos don’t pass the uncanny valley test, even as they are improving in quality. We are still able to spot something that’s fake, and there are a few giveaways. For starters, when you see a human in a video that seems fake, look at the fingers—the way they move is often not very realistic yet.
For companies like TikTok and Facebook, it would seem they have the technology to look for watermarks or other signs that a video is fake. The issue has more to do with what makes a video go viral in the first place.
Why we are drawn to the Jessica Radcliffe orca attack video
To understand how that works, we really need to look in the mirror. The problem is us. We tend to gravitate toward the sensational.
Studies on why social media videos go viral indicate that we are drawn to negative news more than anything, which has been true since the first news report ever aired. If someone is harmed, in pain, or in a car wreck we are more likely to pay attention.
Part of the reason for that could have something to do with our own protection instincts. In the book Morbidly Curious: A Scientist Explains Why We Can’t Look Away by Coltan Scrivner, the author explains that we might pay attention to bad news (or slow down to look at a car wreck) because we’re trying to figure out how we would respond in that same situation.
We seem to have a fascination with horror and dark thrillers, he writes, because we’re trying to evaluate what we would do if we encountered the same issue.
The same might be true of viral videos that feature something gruesome or troubling. We have a fight or flight mechanism in us that is always poised to react, and social media is constantly taking advantage of that impulse.
Should TikTok even allow the Jessica Radcliffe orca attack video?
This all raises the question about why the video is even on the social media platform in the first place.
The cynic in me wonders if many of the worst examples of viral videos are still online because they have such high engagement and high traffic. The most negative and spurious viral videos are the ones that are leading to the most views for advertisers.
What could help counteract all of this negativity? It turns out the real responsibility is not with the social media companies but the creators themselves—and the viewers.
Producing more engaging viral content that has a positive message, reporting on the more uplifting side of the human condition, and focusing on innovation and progress will help stem the tide of all the negative viral content like the Jessica Radcliffe orca attack video. At least it’s a step in the right direction.