AI Spotlight
Viral image of runaway wolf in S. Korea is AI-generated
South Korea has deployed hundreds of officers, drones and thermal cameras in an intensifying search for a wolf that escaped a zoo on April 8, 2026. Hours after the escape, an image purporting to show the runaway trotting through an intersection in the city of Daejeon spread widely online, amplified by government agencies and media outlets. However, an AFP visual analysis found it was created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, a conclusion supported by an independent expert and local authorities."The 1-year-old baby wolf from O-World," reads the Korean-language X post shared on April 8."I hope that no one gets hurt and the baby returns safely," it goes on to say, which has accumulated thousands of interactions.The attached image appears to show a light-brown wolf walking through a four-way intersection in Daejeon, a city located about 150 kilometres (93 miles) south of Seoul.Screenshot of false post captured on April 15, 2026, with a red X and AI symbol added by AFPThe image quickly spread across platforms such as Threads, TikTok and X as South Korean authorities launched a wide search for a male wolf named Neukgu that tunnelled out of an enclosure at the O-World theme park zoo on the morning of April 8 (archived link).It prompted a nearby elementary school to close the next day, with authorities deploying hundreds of firefighters, police officers and military troops while using drones and thermal imaging cameras in the search (archived link).Local media reported on April 14 that Neukgu was spotted the prior evening but was not captured (archived link).Korean media published the image of the purported sighting on April 8, with some of the country's largest newspapers and news agencies using it (archived here and here). AFP redistributed the picture before later withdrawing it.The city of Daejeon also shared the image on its official X account a few hours after Neukgu's disappearance."Search and capture operations are currently underway," reads the post, which urged residents to "take extra safety precautions."Screenshot of an X post captured on April 15, 2026, with a red X and AI symbol added by AFP City authorities also sent out an emergency text alert saying: "It has been confirmed that the wolf that escaped O-World this morning has headed toward the O-World intersection" (archived link).However, visual analyses from AFP and an independent expert indicate the circulating image is inauthentic."The image appears to have been manipulated using AI technology," said Howard Kim, a professor of AI convergence technology at Seoul Cyber University, on April 14 (archived link).The case "demonstrates how the widespread use of generative AI technology can pose an unforeseen threat to public safety response systems", he added.AI-generated imageHive Moderation, an AI detection tool, assessed that the supposed wolf image is "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content."Screenshot from Hive Moderation captured on April 15, 2026, with an AI symbol added by AFP AFP geolocated the visual to a four-way intersection in southern central Daejeon using Naver Maps, a local navigation platform (archived link).Street view imagery of the area from April 2025 matches the fabricated image, with both showing the same grilled eel restaurant in front of the crosswalk.Screenshots of the image shared online (L) and Naver Maps street view imagery, with an AI symbol added and matching elements highlighted by AFPAn AFP photographer took a new photo of the four-way intersection, located roughly 2.3 kilometres (1.4 miles) from the zoo, on April 11.Several features differ from those seen in the AI-generated image, including:The placement of arrows, as well as the length and position of white dashed lines, on the red pavementA blue line in the far-right lane of the AFP photo, which appears white in the AI versionLandmarks in the AFP photo, such as utility lines and a cross on a building, that are faint in the circulating imageScreenshot of the fabricated image (L) and an AFP photo taken by Jung Yeon-je, with an AI symbol added and matching elements highlighted by AFPKim pointed to additional discrepancies, such as distorted text on traffic signs and blurred signage. The perspective of the buildings in the background also appears to be unnaturally compressed.Such inconsistencies "are not characteristic of AI image editing tools built into smartphones, which simply insert objects into the real photo," Kim said."These findings suggest the image was created using a generative AI system, or reconstructed from sources such as street view imagery, rather than edited from an original photograph."How the image spreadA reverse image search on Google found versions of the false visual initially spread across social platforms and other online spaces on April 8, including a community platform on Naver for mothers in Daejeon.A spokesperson for the Daejeon Fire Headquarters told AFP on April 15 that authorities first received the image from an employee at the Geumgang Basin Environmental Office, a Daejeon-based agency under the environment ministry. The employee shared the image over KakaoTalk, a Korean messaging platform, at 1:26 pm (0426 GMT) -- just three minutes before the city sent out its emergency text alert.The Geumgang Basin Environmental Office declined to comment when contacted by AFP.A spokesperson for Daejeon Metropolitan City told AFP on April 13 that, upon receiving the tip, "the priority was to dispatch authorities to the scene and verify the situation on site"."Given the urgency of the situation, there was no basis at the time for us to determine whether the image had been generated using AI," they said, adding that such assumptions could have caused "further delays." Daejeon city, fire and police officials all confirmed to AFP between April 13 and 15 that the visual was likely a synthetic image created using AI.Read more AFP Fact Check articles on artificial intelligence here.