That Security-Cam Video of a Huge Bull Shark Beside a Cape Coral Dock? It’s AI, and the Label Is Hidden
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85.4%
AI Probability (Hive)
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88%
AI Probability (Sightengine)
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400+
Real Miles of Cape Coral Canals
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Medium
Fooled Index
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AI-GENERATED — The “security camera” footage carries the creator’s own handle in the corner.
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On Oct. 12, 2026, an account called The Abyss Archives posted a video on Instagram and Facebook, and on TikTok the next day. It was made to look like dock security footage, with a time stamp, a “Dock Cam” label, map coordinates, and a large bull shark splashing in a canal while a pet dog barks. The caption said Cape Coral has 400 miles of canals, that “they all open to the river and the Gulf,” and then asked whether you would let your kids off that dock.
The video is AI-generated, and it did carry a label, just not a loud one. Meta put an “AI content” label on the Instagram version, but viewers have to open the “about this reel” menu to see it. The creator labeled the TikTok and Facebook versions as AI, but the caption itself never says so. Lead Stories ran the clip through two detectors: Hive Moderation rated it 85.4% likely to be AI-generated, and Sightengine rated it 88%. The “security camera” overlay also carries the account’s own social media handle in the corner, which Lead Stories called an uncharacteristic detail for real security footage.
Parts of the caption are true, which is what makes the clip work. Cape Coral does have more than 400 miles of canals, and bull sharks do live in them. In 2024, Gulf Coast News reported on a family from Ohio who caught and released four bull sharks from a Cape Coral dock. But those real sharks looked much smaller than the one in the video, and not every canal connects to open water, so “they all open to the river and the Gulf” isn’t right either.
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The label is there, but buried. On Instagram you have to open “about this reel” to see Meta’s AI label, and the caption never mentions AI.
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Two detectors agree. Hive Moderation rated the clip 85.4% likely to be AI, and Sightengine rated it 88%.
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The “camera” shows the account’s name. The creator’s social media handle sits in the corner of the supposed security footage.
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The real sharks were much smaller. A 2024 news report showed four bull sharks caught from a Cape Coral dock, and none looked like the one in the video.
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🚨 AI-Generated, Label Hidden
No dock camera captured this shark. The video is AI-generated, with a fake security-camera overlay, and its AI label is easy to miss. The canal facts around it are partly true, which is what makes the scare feel believable.
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A Host’s Two Photos of a ‘Cracked’ Table Didn’t Match. The Guest Noticed, and Airbnb Backed Down
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In 2025, a London academic who stayed seven weeks in a New York apartment through Airbnb told The Guardian her host claimed she caused about £12,000 (roughly $16,000) in damage, including a cracked coffee table, a urine-stained mattress, and broken appliances. She noticed that the host’s two photos of the “cracked” table showed the damage differently, and she believed they were AI-generated or manipulated. Airbnb first ordered her to pay about £5,300, then reversed course after Guardian Money asked about the case, and she was eventually refunded the full cost of her stay. Airbnb told the host it could not verify the images he submitted, and his negative review of her was removed. The claim that AI was used rests on the guest’s account of the photo inconsistencies. This week, a TechRadar writer who follows Reddit’s r/isthisAI community said posts keep appearing asking whether photos of rental damage, from cracked tiles to an overflowing toilet, were faked, and advised guests to take plenty of photos when they arrive and again before they leave.
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YOUR REALITY DETECTOR TOOLKIT |
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Today’s Skill: Ask What the Picture Wants You to Believe or Do
Fear and money are the two most common reasons a fake picture exists.
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Read the small print inside the frame
The shark clip had the creator’s own handle stamped on its “security camera” footage. Real security footage doesn’t usually carry a social media watermark.
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Compare two photos of the ‘same’ thing
The Airbnb guest noticed the crack on the table looked different in the host’s two photos. If two pictures of the same damage don’t match, ask why before you pay.
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Take your own photos
TechRadar’s advice for rentals is to photograph the place when you arrive and again before you leave. Your own dated photos are the best defense against a claim you don’t recognize.
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