Viral AI Videos Depict Black Women as ‘Bigfoot’
▼ Summary
– An AI-generated “bigfoot baddie” video, created using Google’s Veo 3, went viral on Instagram, depicting a Black woman as a primate and perpetuating racist tropes.
– Google’s Veo 3, showcased at its developer conference, gained popularity for surreal AI-generated influencer-style videos, including bigfoot vlogs.
– Experts highlight the racist history behind such depictions, linking them to dehumanizing caricatures of Black people during slavery.
– A popular Instagram account monetizes these AI videos, offering a $15 course on creating similar content, though its creators remain unresponsive to inquiries.
– Copycat accounts on Instagram and TikTok are reposting or creating similar AI-generated racist content, with some videos amassing millions of views.
AI-generated videos portraying Black women as mythical creatures are sparking outrage for perpetuating harmful racial stereotypes. One viral clip features a so-called “bigfoot baddie” with exaggerated acrylic nails and a pink wig, speaking in African American Vernacular English about fictitious legal troubles. Created using Google’s Veo 3 technology, this content has amassed millions of views across Instagram and TikTok, raising concerns about how easily AI tools can amplify racist imagery.
When Google unveiled Veo 3 at its May developer conference, the technology initially gained attention for whimsical creations like biblical figures and cryptids mimicking influencer content. However, some online creators have twisted these capabilities to produce disturbing content that echoes historical racist caricatures. Experts point to troubling parallels with dehumanizing illustrations from slavery eras that exaggerated Black physical features to promote racist ideologies.
Nicol Turner Lee from the Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation explains the deeper harm: “These AI-generated tropes revive painful stereotypes that should have no place in modern society.” The videos frequently depict animal-human hybrids wearing bonnets and using exaggerated speech patterns, with some clips including vulgar sexual references that further degrade the characters.
The viral spread shows no signs of slowing. One Instagram account specializing in this content gained over a million views across five videos within weeks of launching. Tutorials now teach users how to replicate these creations, with one $15 online course promising to reveal the techniques behind consistent character generation. Attempts to contact the course creators were unsuccessful, as listed email addresses failed to deliver messages.
Platforms hosting this content face growing scrutiny. While Meta (Instagram’s parent company) declined comment, both Google and TikTok acknowledged inquiries without providing substantive responses before publication. Our investigation found numerous accounts across both platforms replicating the “bigfoot baddie” concept, with some reposts exceeding three million views. A dedicated TikTok account featuring similar AI content has already surpassed one million likes, demonstrating the alarming reach of these stereotypes.
This phenomenon highlights broader concerns about AI tools being weaponized to spread racial bias under the guise of entertainment. Without proper safeguards, advanced video generation technologies risk becoming vehicles for digital blackface, allowing harmful stereotypes to proliferate under the cover of algorithmic creation. As these videos continue circulating, they underscore the urgent need for tech companies to address how their platforms enable, and potentially profit from, modern iterations of age-old bigotry.
(Source: Wired)
