Real or AI? · Latest checks · Checked 3 October 2026

A lion nuzzles a kneeling woman on a road at night: real or AI?

Short answer: this was made with AI. The evidence is set out below.

Posted on X by @korkuvetitremee · Shown as an embedded post · Source

The answer: made by AI

The clip was shared on X in August 2026 as a lion meeting its old keeper after many years. Lead Stories traced it to an Instagram account, @ten4ic, which posts other clips of the same woman with wild animals and labels them as AI. Lead Stories concluded that this video was made with AI too.

The tells

A huge lion walks up to a woman beside a car and cuddles her like a pet. Fact-checkers noticed a watch on the woman's right wrist that is there in one moment and gone in the next. Things that appear and vanish like this are a common sign of AI video.

How we know

• Published fact-check: Lead Stories, 26 August 2026

We only use a picture in the game when its origin is proven. Read how we check.

How to check something like this yourself

1. Find the first upload. Take a screenshot of a clear frame and run it through a reverse image search, or search a few words describing the clip with the name of the platform. Look for the earliest copy and read its caption.
2. Pause it, again and again. AI video tends to go wrong between frames: objects change shape, people merge, writing swims.
3. Check the length and the sound. Very short clips with stock-sounding audio, or no natural sound at all, deserve a closer look.
4. Look for a fact-check. Search the main claim with the words “fact check”. Anything widely shared has usually been looked at.

Full guide: How to spot an AI video.

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