A video recently stirred up a storm online, claiming that a trainer named Jessica Radcliffe was killed by an orca right in front of a live audience. The clip spread quickly across TikTok and other social platforms — but just a few days later, it turned out to be pure fiction.
According to E!, there are no official records of a woman by that name, nor is there any mention of such a tragedy in news archives. Experts concluded that the so-called “sensation” was AI-generated, using synthetic voices and old footage edited together to look like a real recording.
The video alleged that the incident happened at Pacific Blue Marine Park and even threw in a “dramatic” detail — that the orca was supposedly drawn by the scent of menstrual blood. Specialists note that such lurid elements are often added to fake stories to provoke a stronger emotional reaction from viewers.
The hoax appears to have been inspired by two real tragedies. In 2009, trainer Alexis Martínez was killed by the orca Keto at Loro Parque in the Canary Islands. And in 2010, SeaWorld Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau was dragged underwater by the killer whale Tilikum — a case that later became the basis of the documentary Blackfish.
