Recently, information has spread on social media claiming that an alleged marine animal trainer named Jessica Radcliffe was killed in an attack by an orca (an aggressive dolphin species) named Cairo, which she had raised and trained. In the circulated videos, it is claimed that during a training session before a show in 2025, her orca, Cairo, suddenly became aggressive, dragged Jessica underwater, and killed her on the spot.
See the Facebook posts circulated with this claim: here, here, here, here, here.
See the Instagram posts circulated with the same claim: here, here.
See the claim circulated on YouTube: here.
See the claim circulated on TikTok: here, here.
Fact-check
Rumor Scanner’s investigation found that the claim that alleged animal trainer Jessica Radcliffe was killed in a dolphin attack is not true. Instead, the false information has been spread using multiple videos created with artificial intelligence (AI) without any reliable sources.
At the beginning of the investigation, a search was conducted based on the name Jessica Radcliffe, but no recent news was found of any marine animal trainer by that name dying in an orca attack. If such an incident had occurred, international media outlets would have certainly reported it — but in this case, no news was found.
Further investigation revealed that on January 7 of this year, a YouTube channel named FactEX claimed Jessica’s death. In the video, it was stated that Jessica participated for the first time in an orca show at a marine park called Ocean Haven. However, no credible source confirmed the existence of such a park.
A similar claim was published on April 11 on a YouTube channel named Animal Quests. However, in the description of the video, Jessica was shown as a fictional trainer, and it was mentioned that the story was created based on fictional events.
Rumor Scanner’s investigation also found that from the Facebook profile ‘Mahmuda Champa’, four different videos were shared, claiming they showed Jessica’s death. However, all these videos were created using AI technology.
Additionally, on the Facebook page ‘Bd Tube Master’, a video was circulated claiming Jessica’s death, which showed a woman with two dolphins. However, this too was an AI-generated video. According to Hive Moderation’s AI detection tool analysis, there was a 98% probability that the video was generated by AI.
Moreover, after this claim spread internationally, various media outlets — 1, 2, 3 — have also confirmed it to be false.
However, on February 24, 2010, 40-year-old senior trainer Dawn Brancheau of SeaWorld Orlando was killed after being attacked by an orca named Tilikum following a show.
Therefore, the claim that alleged animal trainer Jessica Radcliffe was killed in a dolphin attack is completely false and fabricated.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner’s analysis.
- Hive Moderation.
- Forbes: Fake Jessica Radcliffe Orca Attack Video Questions Viral Reach In AI Age
