Netflix viewers accuse show of using AI in new crime documentary after spotting bizarre feature
Warning: Article contains spoilers for What Jennifer Did
Netflix has been accused of using AI-generated images in one of its new crime documentaries.
The streaming giant's latest release, What Jennifer Did, tells the chilling story of Jennifer Pan and has proven to be an instant hit with Netflix viewers.
The documentary was released on 10 April and focuses on the horrific plot of Pan, who hired a hitman to kill both of her parents in 2010 after they found out about several lies she'd been telling about her life, including her academic achievements.
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What Jennifer Did features interviews, police tapes and photographs to explain how Pan had been deceiving her parents and what happened on the night she called 911 to report intruders in her family's home.
Despite the documentary being based on a true story, viewers believe some of the photographs included have been manipulated after spotting some strange details, with the claims having emerged in a report from Futurism this week.
One image which has sparked confusion shows Pan smiling and holding her fingers up in a 'peace' sign to the camera.
The photo was shown in the doc as Pan's friend, Nam Nguyen, described her as 'bubbly, happy, confident and very genuine'.
At first glance, the image appears to be entirely normal. Yet on closer inspection, Pan's left hand looks to be missing a ring ringer, small finger and thumb.
Meanwhile, her right hand appears to be missing a pinky finger too, and her other fingers are blurred into the palm of her hand.
Having spotted the discrepancies in the photo, some fans have accused Netflix of using AI manipulation.
Viewers have shared their outrage on social media, with one person writing on X: "AI doesn’t belong in filmmaking," as another responded: "Not in a documentary anyway. Maybe sci-fi or cartoons or something, but definitely not a true crime story."
"This should be illegal," another commented.
LADbible Group has approached Netflix for comment.
Full timeline of the Jennifer Pan case:
Jennifer hires hitmen to kill her parents
In the hopes of inheriting a $500,000 (£393,000) fortune and getting rid of her pushy parents, in November 2010 Jennifer, 24 at the time, enlisted the help of hitmen to kill her parents.
What appeared at first to be an armed robbery - with the three men demanding that the married couple hand over all of their money - soon evolved into a brutal killing, after the group took Jennifer's parents down into the basement and shot them on 8 November.
Her mother Bich was instantly killed upon impact, while her father managed to survive the ordeal.
The 9/11 call that changed everything
Jennifer frantically called 911 to report the crime, but police soon began to poke holes in her story about how the incident unfolded - especially as she was left unharmed and was somehow able to call 911, despite her hands supposedly being bound.
Jennifer becomes a suspect
An in-depth police investigation ultimately led to Jennifer as the police's main suspect.
Authorities were particularly alarmed when they learned that Jennifer had managed to fool her parents into believing she was attending university in Toronto for a number of years.
Jennifer's lies crumble and double life is exposed
The naturally average-achieving student claims she was consistently pressured by her parents to achieve top-notch grades, become an Olympic athlete, a martial arts professional and an award-winning musician.
Their pressure supposedly came at such an extent that Jennifer actually faked studying at university, creating false documents and forged loan letters.
Jennifer is jailed
On 13 December, 2014, Pan was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder. She was sentenced the following year to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Her co-conspirators Daniel Chi-Kwong Wong, David Mylvaganam and Lenford Roy Crawford were convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in December 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Eric Shawn "Sniper" Carty was given an 18-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit murder, with eligibility for parole after nine years. He passed away in prison in 2018.
Jennifer’s 2023 appeal
Last year, Pan was granted a new trial for the murder of her mother.
It was found that the original judge in her trial had made an error by telling the jury they were only to consider first-degree murder, instead of also being able to consider second-degree murder or manslaughter.
At the time of writing, Canada’s Supreme Court is still undecided on whether it will hear the case.
Topics: Netflix, Crime, True Crime, Documentaries, AI
Danni King