Rare 'Pink Dolphin' Found in North Carolina, USA? ... Actually Revealed

Dolphin Photos Swimming at the Beach Posted on SNS
Analysis Shows They Are Either AI Fake Photos or Plastic

News of a pink dolphin, known as a globally rare species, recently being spotted off the coast of North Carolina, USA, went viral on social networking services (SNS). However, fact-checking revealed that this photo was a fake created by artificial intelligence (AI).

The photo of this pink dolphin began spreading primarily on SNS platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week. The person presumed to be the original poster wrote alongside the photo, "An important creature you don't see every day. A rare pink dolphin. This pink dolphin was found washed ashore on a beach in North Carolina, USA, from its natural habitat," adding, "It was later returned to the ocean."

Many netizens who saw the post immediately liked and shared it. One netizen reacted, "A photo of a pink dolphin was taken on a North Carolina beach. If I ever saw that dolphin, I would immediately throw away the beer I was drinking on the beach and run over. Hahaha." As the photo of the pink dolphin was revealed, it attracted significant attention. Known as the Amazon river dolphin or 'Boto,' this dolphin is a rare animal native to South America, living in the freshwater of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins across Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. North Carolina is thousands of kilometers away from these regions.

However, on the 19th (local time), MSN.COM, Microsoft's news site, explained that the pink dolphin photo was either AI-generated or manipulated using a plastic model, labeling it as a 'fake.' After closely analyzing the dolphin photos posted on SNS, MSN found that the dolphins were striking exactly the same pose in each photo. They also noted that the dolphin had an unusual plastic-like shape, and upon zooming in on the photo, the word 'COLA' could be seen on the dolphin's forehead. This suggests that the pink dolphin might be a prop used in a carbonated beverage brand advertisement. Furthermore, they explained that the dolphin appeared to be plastic rather than a living creature. Additionally, no wildlife protection organizations in the North Carolina area have officially reported the appearance of a pink dolphin in the region, which further supports the claim that the photo is manipulated.