AI-made Cat in the Hat videos spark school scares, police say no threat

In short: A viral online trend is using AI-made “Cat in the Hat” images and videos to frighten people, and police say the character is not real and no credible threat has been confirmed.

What's going on

Posts showing the Dr. Seuss character Cat in the Hat have spread on apps like TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook. The clips are often grainy and dark, and show the character standing in streets, driveways, or near school buildings. Many posts add ominous captions, including claims that the character is “coming” for a person or a specific place.

Police and school officials in the U.K. and Ireland have publicly said these images are a hoax. They said the Cat in the Hat was not actually in neighborhoods or outside homes. In other words, the videos appear to be AI-generated, meaning they were created by software that can make fake pictures and video (like a digital costume and set that never existed in real life).

In parts of the U.S., reporting says the trend has moved beyond jokes and into targeted harassment of schools. Some posts have named specific students or campuses. In some cases, that has led to extra security, temporary lockdowns, or class cancellations while officials checked whether anything was real.

What to watch

Authorities quoted in coverage say they are investigating who started and shared the posts. So far, they say they have not verified any physical threat connected to the character itself, but the scare can still disrupt schools and frighten children. Parents and students may want to treat dramatic videos as unverified until a school or police department confirms facts.

Source: NYTimes