Netflix Accused of Using AI Photos in True Crime Documentary
Netflix has been accused of using AI-manipulated images in a new true crime documentary What Jennifer Did.
The documentary revolves around Jennifer Pan who was convicted of a kill-for-hire attack on her parents. Around 28 minutes into the documentary, Pan’s high school friend Nam Nguyen is described as a “bubbly, happy, confident, and very genuine” person. His words are accompanied by a series of relevant photos.
But upon closer inspection of the images, there are signs of manipulation; one image in particular showing Pan flashing peace signs with both arms appears blatantly manipulated offering evidence that at least some of the image was AI-generated.
The stange artifacts were first spotted by Futurism. On Pan’s left hand, she appears to have only two fingers; missing a thumb, a pinky finger, and a ring ringer. On her right hand, she is missing a pinky finger and her thumb appears unnaturally long and disjointed. AI image generators notoriously have a hard time making pictures of human hands.
Two other photographs showing Pan wearing the same red dress also show AI artifacts.
Did Netflix Use AI-Manipulated Photos in What Jennifer Did?
It is difficult to know exactly what has gone on in the editing process but it could be that the producers had one image and used it as a source picture to make more “photos”.
Any type of manipulation of photos of a true crime documentary is controversial because a story — especially one as sensitive as Pan’s — should be told truthfully and unvarnished even when that story is being told through imagery.
“Resorting to the tech to generate pictures of a real person, especially of somebody who’s still in jail and will only be eligible for parole around 2040, should raise some alarm bells,” writes Futurism.
What Jennifer Did was released on Netflix on April 10. PetaPixel has reached out to Netflix for comment.
Image credits: Photographs by What Jennifer Did/Netflix
