A South Korean man faces up to five years in prison and a $6,700 fine for posting an AI-generated photo that set off a massive and costly wolf hunt in the city of Daejeon. When a real wolf named Neukgu escaped from the Daejeon Zoo in early April, someone used a text prompt to create a photo-realistic image of the animal prowling through city streets and posted it online. Authorities initially believed the image was real and launched a major response, closing primary schools and deploying special emergency teams to sweep the city.
By the time officials realized the photo was AI-generated, the false trail had delayed the wolf’s capture by up to nine days. The real Neukgu was eventually found on the city’s outskirts, and South Korean authorities said the prolonged deployment of police and firefighters “caused significant disruptions to their primary duty of protecting the public.” The man behind the image said he created it “for fun.”
Source: Oddity Central
