WeRateDogs founder warns about AI-made dog rescue videos

In short: AI-generated dog videos that fake rescue and reunion stories are spreading on social media, and WeRateDogs founder Matt Nelson says they can trick viewers and damage trust.

What's going on

Matt Nelson, the founder of the popular WeRateDogs account, is speaking out about a growing wave of dog videos made with AI. These clips often copy the style of emotional rescue and reunion posts. At first glance, they can look like real footage.

The problem, Nelson says, is that many of these videos are made up. The dogs are not real, and the events did not happen. Viewers may feel fooled once they realize the story was fabricated.

He also warned that interacting with one of these posts can lead to more of them showing up in your feed. Social media recommendations work a bit like a waiter who keeps bringing the dish you tasted once, even if it was not what you thought it was.

Nelson started WeRateDogs in 2015, when he was a college freshman. He noticed his dog jokes did better than other posts, and he built the account from there. It has since grown into a business with roughly 20 million followers across major platforms, plus merchandise, a podcast, and a charitable foundation. Another recent profile put its total following at about 23 million.

What to watch

A big part of WeRateDogs’ value is trust, meaning followers believe the dogs and stories are real. As more synthetic animal content spreads through the same feeds people use for genuine videos, creators and platforms may face pressure to label AI-made clips more clearly or promote tools that help confirm what is real.

Source: NYTimes