The Santa Ana Police Department confirmed Tuesday that a photo showing a highly venomous snake loose in a residential area of Orange County was AI-generated.
Police and reptile experts responded to the 1400 block of Cypress Avenue in Santa Ana on Monday after someone reported to police that they witnessed and photographed a Gaboon viper in the area.
“Today, detectives followed up with the reporting party, who initially said he saw the snake and provided the original photo,” Santa Ana PD sid. “During the follow-up investigation, he admitted the photo was AI-generated and that the report was false.”
Although police initially speculated if the image was real, they treated the possible emergency as a real threat until they could confirm the image was fake. Gaboon vipers are highly venomous and potentially deadly to humans. The snakes are native to Central, East and West Africa. However, these dangerous snakes are sometimes collected as pets, according to the National Library of Medicine…