Video footage of robot attacking human is computer-generated animation | Fact check

Isabella Fertel, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Video shows robot attacking human factory worker

A May 8 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) features a video appearing to show security footage of a robot working on an assembly line.

"Robot attacks factory worker!" reads the text in the video.

The post garnered more than 2,000 likes in one day. Other versions of the post are circulating on TikTok and YouTube

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Our rating: False

The footage used in the post is a work of fiction created by the film company Sozo Bear Films using animation software.

Footage of robot attack created using animation software

The footage used in the Instagram post was originally posted on TikTok by Luke Pilgrim, co-creator of the Georgia-based film company Sozo Bear Films, on Jan. 31, 2022.

The film company also posted the original version of the animation several times on its YouTube channel.

The video was created using computer-generated imagery software, Pilgrim and Sozo Bear Films co-creator Brad Kennedy told USA TODAY in a joint statement.

“It's a full CGI shot meaning all of it was modeled in 3D in Blender and animated by our lead visual effects artist Ellis Treece,” said an email from Pilgrim and Kennedy. “We use our TikTok and YouTube platform to hone our visual effects skills and try out new ideas.”

The film company shared a video explaining how they produced the footage on YouTube on March 19, 2022.

“We wanted to make something that looked really believable, looked realistic, but we also wanted to tell a story,” Pilgrim says in the video. “And so we gave the robot some emotion, which kind of gave away that they were CGI to most people, but it still made a really cool video, and I think overall it was a success.”

The co-creators noted in their statement that they have seen a recent uptick in the number of views the video has received online.

“Unfortunately, a lot of people only see this video and don't end up seeing our ‘how we made it’ video, and so they might think it's real,” Pilgrim and Kennedy said. “Plus when it gets re-shared out of context by someone else that also leads to confusion.”

The Associated Press, PolitiFact and Lead Stories also debunked this post.

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USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram and TikTok users who shared the post for comment but did not receive an immediate response. The YouTube user did not provide evidence to back up the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video of robot attacking human factory worker is animated | Fact check