Does real video show a court case involving a teen who illegally worked night shifts in order to care for his sister after their parents died? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. The story does not include any specifics about names, locations or dates. The video appears to show three different courtrooms and contains glitches typical of AI-generated material. The hug between the little sister and her brother is especially awkward as she seems to reach with her elbow first before her lower arm morphs to complete the embrace.
The video was posted (archived here) on TikTok on Feb. 25, 2026 by @learningdaily5. It was captioned:
16 year night #courts #courtroom #courtcases #court
This is a screenshot of the TikTok video:
(Image source: Lead Stories screenshot from tiktok.com/@learningdaily5/video/7610775398166613262.)
The video shows a courtroom drama with three main players. The boy character says he was working night shifts at a gas station illegally because his parents died in a car accident. The script has him saying he was trying to support his 6-year-old sister so they didn't have to go to separate foster homes. A prosecuting attorney character is shown arguing against the boy working illegally, saying he falsified documents. A major inconsistency in the video script has the boy saying he is 16 years old and the attorney saying the boy is 14 years old. The judge character plays a compassionate tough guy, praising the boy's efforts and promising the court will find legal ways to keep the siblings together.
The premise of the story is fundamentally flawed. U.S. child labor laws hold the employer responsible for violations, not the child. This is outlined in The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) child labor provisions (archived here).
(Image source: Lead Stories composite with screenshots from tiktok.com/@learningdaily5/video/7610775398166613262.)
There are visual glitches in the AI-generated video. One is that the mouldings and panelling in each scene appears dramatically different, as if each character is in a different courtroom (pictured above). Another glitch appears at the end of the story, when the sister runs to hug her brother (pictured below). She nonsensically runs past his left side with her arms outstretched and crosses behind him. She seems to hug herself as she comes around his right side, reaching to embrace him with her elbows extended. Then her glitchy lower arm appears.
(Image source: Lead Stories composite with screenshots from tiktok.com/@learningdaily5/video/7610775398166613262.)
