It's AI blackface': social media account hailed as the Aboriginal Steve Irwin is an AI character created in New Zealand

"With a mop of dark curls and brown eyes, Jarren stands in the thick of the Australian outback, red dirt at his feet, a snake unfurling in front of him. In a series of online videos, the social media star, known online as the Bush Legend, walks through dense forests or drives along deserted roads on the hunt for wedge-tailed eagles. Many of the videos are set to pulsating percussion instruments and yidakis (didgeridoo)."

"His voice sounds like a cross between Gardening Australia's Costa Georgiadis and Steve Irwin. His speech is peppered with mate and crikey as he passionately shares snippets with thousands of his followers about Australian wildlife from venomous snakes and crocodiles to redback spiders and the elusive night parrots, once thought extinct. His followers leave admiring comments, marvelling at how he can get so close to the animals and even suggesting he needs his own TV show."

An AI-generated persona named Jarren, presented as the Bush Legend, posts staged Australian wildlife videos featuring fabricated animals and a created presenter. The account uses outback imagery, didgeridoo soundtracks, colloquial Australian speech and visual cues linked to Indigenous identity while claiming to build awareness and education about wildlife. Meta indicates the account is based in New Zealand and it originally shared an AI-generated satirical news account called Nek Minute News before pivoting to wildlife content. Earlier incarnations showed white body paint resembling ochre and a beaded necklace. The suspected creator is a South African living in New Zealand who did not respond to contact, and the portrayal has raised ethical and cultural-appropriation concerns.

Read at www.theguardian.com