Police in Newark, New Jersey, say reports of monkeys roaming city streets this week appear to be a hoax fueled by AI-generated images. Officers responded to calls about loose monkeys at the Georgia King Village apartment complex on Thursday morning, following similar reports the day before, reports PIX11. One image showed a couple of monkeys picking through a dumpster, per the New York Post. However, after sweeping buildings and checking the area, police say they've found no sign of any wayward primates. "Officers have not located any monkeys," the city's public safety chief, Emanuel Miranda, tells PIX11, adding that photos and videos circulating online are likely the product of artificial intelligence.
Some Newark residents expressed concerns about the hoax. "We need to use AI the right way and not play around too much," a local says. "Having the police come for something that's not real is a waste of their time when they could be doing other things." The incident remains under investigation, but authorities say it has been preliminarily determined to be "a hoax."
NJ.com notes that no charges have been filed. The monkey scare follows a similar incident in Yonkers earlier this month, where police warned the public about an "AI homeless man prank" involving a fake image showing a man standing inside various rooms.