Truth behind viral video of woman trying to board plane with kangaroo

The internet was ready to go to war for this kangaroo after footage of the animal being 'refused boarding' at an airport terminal went viral.

Despite politely waiting at the departure gate adorably clutching his boarding pass and minding his own business as two women bickered above him, it seemed as though the little guy's holiday dreams had been dashed.

In the video which has gone viral, a woman who appears to be accompanying the kangaroo on the flight is seen arguing with an airline employee.

She seems to be ranting in a foreign language, so although we don't know what she's saying, it's clear she is making a passionate plea in the hopes of getting the animal on the plane.

But the member of staff appears to be having absolutely none of it, and she seems immune to the effects of the kangaroo's puppy dog eyes which have left social media users swooning.

The footage was originally shared to Instagram by a visual effects artist known as 'Infinite Unreality' alongside the caption: "No kangaroos on the plane."

As is often the case, the internet took the clip and ran with it - so a few hours later, the video began circulating on X alongside the claim that the 'emotional support kangaroo [had been] rejected entry to a plane'.

This probably wasn't considered that far-fetched to most people, as there was a bloke in the US who tried to take an 'emotional support alligator' to a Philadelphia Phillies baseball game in 2023.

Either way, social media users began sharpening their pitchforks as they demanded 'justice' for the kangaroo and his travel plans, while leaping to the animal's defence.

One person wrote: "Looks to me like he is being polite and has a boarding pass. I don’t see the problem."

Another joked: "Bro already made it through customs and security, just let him on wtf."

A third added: "I'm on the kangaroo's side."

Others were more sceptical about the authenticity of the video, given that kangaroos are not domesticated... and the fact that they have been known to get humans in headlocks, as well as tussling with fully-grown men.

People thought there was no way that a kangaroo would be able to keep its cool during the departure gate debacle, as they're more than willing to talk with their fists if needs be.

One user asked: "Is this AI?"

A second said: "If you are not sure if it is this AI or not, check out the hands. Don't be a sucker. Thanks."

And someone else remarked: "AI is getting dangerous, this will be perfected in a couple of years."

Although the idea of a kangaroo catching flights not feelings is much more exciting than the footage being AI-generated, it turns out that it's the latter which is true.

Given that a visual effects artist with a name like 'Infinite Unreality' shared the video, it shouldn't really take a detective to work this out.

But to be fair to those who fell for the kangaroo clip, AI-generated videos are getting more realistic day by day.

Last week, loads of people were left seriously creeped out by footage seemingly showing two young women taking part in a street interview - which turned out to be AI-generated.

If this doesn't teach you not to jump the gun before verifying what you see on social media, I don't know what will.