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Is ''Caust' A Real Pixar Film? Offensive AI Film Posters And Where They Come From
In early October 2023, fake posters for films that look like Pixar animation but explore topics that are extremely offensive and totally unfit for a family viewing flooded the internet, with 'Caust, supposedly a Pixar film about the events of the Holocaust with a particularly recognizable main character being the worst offender. Where do these posters come from, and how do you spot if you're being fooled by AI? Learn this and more in our explainer.
What Are 'Caust And Other Offensive AI Pixar Posters?
In late September 2023, fake posters for films such as One Jar, Stuffed and 'Caust, supposedly produced by Pixar and Disney, started appearing on Facebook, X / Twitter, and other social media, with some users wondering if these were the real upcoming films. The posters, created with powerful AI tools, looked very much real, copying Pixar's trademark animation style down to minute details, with the only giveaways being wobbly, unclear text and minor visual artifacts that could easily be missed at the first glance.
The trend got most of its steam from the late-September update to Bing Image Creator, an AI-generation tool by Microsoft that relies on the powerful DALL-E 3 AI technology. Unlike many other AIs, Bing Image Creator is a free tool with no waiting time, which allowed ordinary internet users to produce massive amounts of AI-generated images with minimal knowledge.
Where Does Do Offensive AI Pixar Posters Come From?
The trend of parody AI-made Pixar posters was launched back in May 2023 by Wallace, an AI-generated poster for a non-existent Pixar film about rapper Notorious B.I.G. that managed to fool quite a few people into believing that it was real.
Then, in late September 2023, Facebook and Instagram pages The Trollercoaster and Dark Asylum Radio posted the first viral AI-made Pixar posters for One Jar, Stuffed, and other fake films, all referencing either famous shock media or not-safe-for-work memes.
Finally, in early October 2023, users on 4chan's /pol/ board, notorious for its offensive and racist memes, started producing AI-generated images of the Holocaust that copied the style of Pixar films. One of these images, a poster for a movie titled "'Caust," went viral.
How To Spot An AI-Generated Poster?
When on lookout for AI-generated posters, and images in general, one method of spotting the work of AI is checking the image for any visual artifacts such as wobbly letters, extra fingers or details that simply fade into the background. If you find any, that image has likely been generated by an AI.
Another way to make sure that the poster you see is legit is finding more information about it online: search for the name of the film together with the name of the studio in Google or any other search engine. If you fail to find any articles about it, it's fake.
Finally, using common sense is still the most reliable ways of spotting fakes! Pixar or any other major animation studio would probably never make a film based on a piece of shock media or exploiting historic tragedies, so if you see a poster for one then it's definitely fake.
For the full history of 'Caust and other offensive AI Pixar memes, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.