In early October 2025, social media users shared a 10-second video purportedly showing a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent accidentally pepper-spraying himself in the face.
The footage circulated as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration continued its escalated immigration enforcement tactics and attempted to deploy National Guard troops into Portland, Chicago and other cities across the country.
For example, one X user posted the clip (archived) with the caption: "This ICE agent ended pepper spraying him and it serves him right! It's obvious they have no clue what the hell they're doing!"
(X / TikTok user @ai_bloop)
In the video, the purported ICE agent discharged the canister near a crowd of protesters. Amid several shouts, a man out of shot said, "Watch the wind, man," before the aerosol blew back into the agent's face. The same man said, "He got himself," then laughed, before asking the agent, "You all right, officer?" The agent answered, "I'm good. I'm good," with the man responding, "Karma's quick, dude."
The video was fake. Footage featured a watermark for a TikTok channel with the artificial intelligence acronym "AI" in its handle. That user's post (archived) included a text caption reading: "Portland ice protest backfired."
The 10-second clip displayed numerous signs of being AI-generated using OpenAI's Sora text-to-audio-and-video tool. Days before the video started circulating, OpenAI, an AI research and development company, announced the release of Sora 2, the latest version of the app, which featured synchronized audio for the first time. The release resulted in a wave of realistic-looking, AI-generated videos with sound sweeping social media platforms.
Visible signs of AI
One of the more obvious signs the video was AI-generated was its Sora watermark. Upon release, OpenAI said all outputs on its platform would "carry a visible watermark" to distinguish it as AI content (archived).
There were numerous other issues with the visuals. For example, the spray itself was produced by both of the agent's hands despite him only holding the canister in his right hand. When he lifted his left hand it was clear he was not holding a canister.
Incomprehensible text, part of which read "OF DEI LBNM EPARTMENT," was also visible on the wall in the background. AI tools often struggle to create fully comprehensible text in their media outputs.
In addition, the agent's face and mouth did not properly move when saying the words: "I'm good. I'm good."
For further reading, Snopes previously outlined content known as "AI slop." We also debunked another fake video that originated as a Sora creation. The footage purportedly showed a protester being pepper-sprayed by a soldier who referred to himself as "Sergeant Pepper."