A photo shared on X allegedly shows a giant octopus washed up on a shore off of Bali, Indonesia. 

⚠️ BIG 🦑 A very giant octopus was found off the coast of Bali, Indonesia pic.twitter.com/0u3NBH0J85

— VAL THOR (@CMDRVALTHOR) June 4, 2024

Verdict: False

The image was originally posted by an Instagram account that makes content with artificial intelligence (AI), according to its bio.

Fact Check:

A family bought a pet octopus they didn’t realize had many eggs which then hatched 50 octopus babies, according to Daily Mail. The octopus, named Terrance, recently died and the family found separate homes for the offspring, the outlet reported.

An X image purportedly shows a massive octopus on the shore of a beach. People, much smaller in comparison, can be seen in the background.

“BIG A very giant octopus was found off the coast of Bali, Indonesia,” the caption reads. 

This is not a genuine image, however. Hive Moderation shows that the image is “99% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfaked content.” (RELATED: Image Of Trump Appearing To Be Apprehended By Police Is Ai-Generated)

The photo appears to originate from an Instagram account called @best_of_ai, where it garnered over 1.3 million likes. The post shows a video with several images of the octopus, its appearance and number of tentacles varying in each. The post’s description tells a story of an octopus washing ashore to be admired by beachgoers and scientists before returning to the ocean. The bottom of the description has a disclaimer that states, “This is a fictional story.”

The account’s bio reads, “AI STORY TELLING – Experimenting with different ai engines, themes and styles. 🤖💡( Comic, fashion, art, portraits, Alternative history, movie ref etc).”