May 27, 2026 · 9 min · 10 segments
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms media, journalists and conservationists are confronting a new and unsettling reality: What happens when we can no longer trust what we see in nature…
Rhett ButlerGuest
Hannah KaplanHost
Last year, reports began swirling online of a lioness supposedly sighted in Djibouti in Eastern Africa.
By the time fact-checkers and conservationists responded, the clip had already reached a wide audience, adding to growing concerns about how AI-generated misleading wildlife content can undermine trust in conservation storytelling.
I would say I'm increasingly concerned, and the issue isn't just AI creating fake images, it's that it's creating convincing ones that are being done at scale, and often by people who have no connection to wildlife.
For more than 25 years, Mongabay has led the way in environmental and conservation reporting, with founder Rhett Butler witnessing firsthand how the digital landscape has reshaped the industry.
It's a combination of realism and how quickly this type of content can be amplified.
Last year, reports began swirling online of a lioness supposedly sighted in Djibouti in Eastern Africa.
By the time fact-checkers and conservationists responded, the clip had already reached a wide audience, adding to growing concerns about how AI-generated misleading wildlife content can undermine trust in conservation storytelling.
I would say I'm increasingly concerned, and the issue isn't just AI creating fake images, it's that it's creating convincing ones that are being done at scale, and often by people who have no connection to wildlife.
For more than 25 years, Mongabay has led the way in environmental and conservation reporting, with founder Rhett Butler witnessing firsthand how the digital landscape has reshaped the industry.
It's a combination of realism and how quickly this type of content can be amplified.
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