A snake that a Santa Ana resident reported was a highly venomous viper not native to North America apparently was actually a prank generated by AI, police said Tuesday.
In an Instagram post on the Santa Ana Police Department’s account, officials said after a second visit by detectives with the resident, he admitted the original report was false.
“During the follow-up investigation, he admitted the photo was AI-generated and that the report was false,” officials said in the Instagram post.
The original alert posted by the department warned of a sighting of a highly venomous Gaboon viper seen in a neighborhood yard. Santa Ana PD’s alert included both a real image of the snake and a stock image, which stirred debate that the real image may have been generated by artificial intelligence. Users online were quick to argue the department was potentially being pranked. But officials said police ran it through AI generators and had not determined that it was AI.
When this publication received the original image of the snake provided to police, OpenAI’s photo verification tool showed the photo was either generated or enhanced by AI.
“AI-generated images can look very real, and when false information is shared as fact, it can quickly create unnecessary fear, confusion, and concern in our community,” Santa Ana officials said in their Instagram post. “We appreciate the community’s patience while our officers and reptile experts worked to investigate the report, search the area, and determine what actually happened.”
The homeowner who reported seeing the snake was not facing a fine or charges as of Tuesday afternoon, Santa Ana police spokeswoman Officer Natalie Garcia said.
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