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| - A video shared in a Feb. 21, 2025, X post claimed to show a "mesmerizing yet eerie" jellyfish moving across the seafloor. The 9-second clip showed the jellyfish coming into frame with big yellow eyes above a nose-shaped feature that framed a teeth-filled mouth. Near the end of the video, the jellyfish's eyes and mouth abruptly disappeared.
(X/@cooltechtipz)
At the time of this writing, the video (archived) had received more than 124,000 views.
While we were unable to determine the creator of the video, it did not show a real jellyfish and was likely created using artificial intelligence, as evidenced by the jellyfish changing shape and losing its facial features. Also, while some jellyfish have eyes, no known species have a set of two large eyeballs like the one in the video. We therefore rate this video as a fake.
Below are side-by-side stills taken from the video that appeared on X, which show the creature's transition from a jellyfish with eyes and a mouth to one without those features.
(X/@cooltechtipz)
Furthermore, the online AI detection tool Hive Moderation determined that at least one still from the video was 99.9% "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content." These results appear in the screenshot below:
(Hive Moderation)
Jellyfish are simple invertebrates
In an article on its website, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration described jellyfish as being a "blob" made up of 95% water:
Lacking brains, blood, or even hearts, jellyfish are pretty simple critters. They are composed of three layers: an outer layer, called the epidermis; a middle layer made of a thick, elastic, jelly-like substance called mesoglea; and an inner layer, called the gastrodermis. An elementary nervous system, or nerve net, allows jellyfish to smell, detect light, and respond to other stimuli. The simple digestive cavity of a jellyfish acts as both its stomach and intestine, with one opening for both the mouth and the anus.
The American Museum of Natural History noted in an article about jellyfish anatomy that all true jellyfish share a few key characteristics, including the shape of their umbrella-like bodies or "bells." Hanging from the bell are tentacles lined with nematocysts, specialized stinging cells. According to the AMNH:
Among their many tentacles, some jellyfish have parts known as oral arms. These long appendages move captured prey to the animal's mouth, which is usually found on the underside of the bell. Some species have even ditched a mouth entirely. These jellies ingest food directly through openings in their oral arms.
In other words, jellyfish do not have mouths with teeth, nor do they have noses.
Box jellyfish, which scientists do not consider true jellyfish, do have eyes — but they don't resemble the ones shown in the video. According to an article from ScienceNews, Caribbean box jellyfish have four "knoblike" sensory structures dangling off their bodies, each containing six eyes.
Previously, we looked into whether images purporting to show a 5-foot-long jellyfish were real.
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