Did a viral post on X.com authentically show a wave crashing over the rear deck of a yacht and washing "Eliteists" overboard at sea? No, that's not true: The video originates from a YouTube account that labels its material as having been made by generative AI. Clear evidence of the video's artificiality is visible, such as when humans suddenly appear in previously empty spaces and magically pass through railings.
The video, already viral on YouTube, was posted with a May 11, 2025 X post (archived here) where it was published on the @Alphafox78 account under the caption: "Eliteists get washed overboad!"
At the time this fact check was written, the post on X looked like this:
(Source: X.com screenshot taken by Lead Stories.)
A higher-resolution version of the video was posted as "One wave, Total blackout" (archived here) on the @AI_reelhub channel on YouTube on May 4, 2025.
In the "How this content was made" disclosures, the channel described the video as "altered or synthetic content" and wrote "Sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated."
Viewers watching the lower right corner of the frame see a small white area surrounded by a stout ship's railing. At 00:04 a person passes magically through the railing from the right and then disappears. At 00:08, a person similarly passes through the railing from the left side of the white area.
Readers can see more Lead Stories fact checks of ai images here.
