Disinformation researcher, Byron Clark says disinformation is being spread using deepfake AI images of the Bondi terror attacks.
A popular social media account fronted by an Aboriginal man is actually based in New Zealand and the videos are made with artificial intelligence, sparking ethical concerns over the use of indigenous people in this type of content.
The “Bush Legend”, as his TikTok and Meta account usernames describe himas, have amassed more than 211,000 followers and mainly discuss native Australian animals and facts about them.
The videos show him in khaki outfits, or sometimes in ochre, often accompanied with yidaki (didgeridoo) music.
However, none of the videos are real and, when the Herald checked the description of the pages, it was stated by the account it used “AI-generated visuals to share wildlife stories“.
Followers have left comments on the videos admiring how he handles the animals while speaking to the camera and it is unclear how many of the viewers know that Bush Legend isn’t a real person.
Meta has indicated the Instagram account was created in June 2025 and based in New Zealand, while a scroll to the bottom of the page indicates it used to be called “Nec Minute News” creating videos mainly covering New Zealand-based news stories satirically.
Bush Legend accounts have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers across multiple social media platforms creating AI-generated videos discussing Australian wildlife. Photo / Instagram
One of Bush Legend’s more recent videos also features a man in a hat with a silver fern holding a tūī, with one person asking “Wow „, how did you get it to stay there ?”
The AI-generated videos typically depict an Aboriginal man in an Austrlian nature setting talking about an animal. Photo / Instagram
Lawyer and Indigenous cultural and intellectual property expert, Dr Terri Janke, told the Guardian the images were “remarkable” in their realism, but can also put marginalised communities at risk and potentially taking away future opportunities.
“It’s theft that is very insidious in that it also involves a cultural harm,” Janke said.
One video on the account shows an AI-generated man discussing tūī facts while holding one of the birds. Photo / Instagram
“Because of the discrimination … the impacts of stereotypes and negative thinking, those impacts do hit harder.”
Writing in The Conversation, Tamika Worrell, a senior lecturer in critical Indigenous studies at Macquarie University, argued this is part of the rise of “AI Blakface” which can create financial gain for its creator, not the communities it is taking from.
Despite Meta indicating the account is based in new Zealand, most of the videos are based around Australian wildlife. Photo / Instagram
“The theft of Indigenous knowledge for generative AI forms a new type of algorithmic settler colonialism,” Worrell wrote, “impacting Indigenous self-determination.”
Attempting to address some of the recent critique, Bush Legend said in a recent video he wasn’t “here to present any culture or group” and “If this isn’t your thing, mate, no worries at all, just scroll and move on.”
