Did a widely-shared video authentically show an "emotional support kangaroo" denied entry to a plane, as the animal's owner argues with gate staff? No, that's not true: The clip originated on an Instagram account that produces AI-generated content. The text on the kangaroo's boarding pass, and the non-existent language spoken by the humans in the video, were clues that the footage was inauthentic.
The video appeared in a May 27, 2025, post on X (archived here), along with the text caption:
Emotional support kangaroo rejected entry to plane.
It can be watched in full below:
Emotional support kangaroo rejected entry to plane.
-- DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) May 27, 2025
pic.twitter.com/iFPu69m5WE
In reality, that incident never took place, and the video was AI-generated.
It first appeared in a May 26, 2025, post on Instagram by "infiniteunreality", which carries the following description on the account bio:
Visual Effects Artist
Your Daily Dose of Unreality
That account regularly posts similar AI-generated images and videos, and often includes the infinity symbol as a kind of signature, as it did in the "emotional support kangaroo" video:
(Source: Instagram screenshot)
Even without this sourcing, the video contained clues about its AI-generated origins.
Firstly, the text on the "boarding pass" being held by the kangaroo was garbled and indecipherable, often a telltale sign that a video has been created using AI technology:
(Source: Instagram screenshot)
Secondly, the humans in the video do not appear to speaking in a recognizable language.
Thirdly, the attendant at the gate is wearing a name tag that features no name:
(Source: Instagram screenshot)
Finally, the left hand of the passenger features a magic wedding band. At first, her ring finger is unadorned, before a ring suddenly appears:
(Source: Instagram screenshot)
