To many, he’s an Aboriginal man building an online following - yet he belongs to no nation.
He has no biological descent and is not recognised or claimed by any Aboriginal community. No one knows his family: no mob, no Elders, no aunties, uncles or cousins.
His name is 'Jarren' — no last name, no lineage.
That's because ‘Jarren’ is AI — a completely fictional, digitally-constructed version of an Aboriginal man.
'Jarren' is the creation of Keagan John Mason - a South African content creator based in New Zealand, who some say is blurring the lines between AI and human appropriation, while others are calling it ‘digital blackface.’
Across social media, Mason has created various social pages named ‘Bush Legend: Wildlife Stories and Facts’, pages he describes as ‘digitally created for education & awareness.’
The pages feature interactions with and facts on various native fauna from Australia, including birds, reptiles and mammals.
The fictional 'Jarren' is the presenter and star of these ‘educational’ videos.
'Jarren' (and Mason) encourage viewers to subscribe to the various Bush Legend pages.
“When you subscribe, you’re directly supporting my journey and helping me keep creating daily content,” Mason writes.
"Your support lets me spend more time doing this full time, researching, and bringing these Aussie animal stories to life.
Bush Legend has gained almost 200,000 followers on its various social pages - 92,000 on Facebook, 89,000 on Instagram and 25,000 on TikTok - with many followers believing that ‘Jarren’ is real.
“He’s a natural,” one viewer commented on a video post.
'Deeply concerning': AI replacing cultural knowledge
Bush Legend appears to have originally started as a satirical news channel called Nec Minnit News, purporting to be an NZ/Australian news channel.
Videos featuring 'Jarren' first started to appear in December last year, with the page quickly growing in popularity to 15,000 followers.
On his page descriptions, Mason notes that his pages use ‘AI-generated visuals to share wildlife stories for education.’
But while Bush Legend and 'Jarren’s' popularity is growing, so are the criticisms.
Corey Tutt OAM, a Kamilaroi man and STEM professional and the founder of Deadly Science, says the issue of AI replicating cultural knowledge and lived experience is deeply concerning.
“More troubling still is the use of AI-generated images that resemble deceased people, where the technology searches for and recreates a likeness.”
“We are also seeing a rise in non-Indigenous organisations, often dressed in black-clad branding, using AI to manufacture cultural legitimacy,” the former NSW Young Australian of the Year said.
Damian 'Wildman' Duffy, a non-Indigenous wildlife enthusiast and nature guide who lives on Larrakia Country, has called out the Bush Legend’s pages to his 1.4million followers.
“It’s a white bloke using a completely fictional digital version of an Indigenous man, often painted up in ceremonial paint, to create fake wildlife content and make money,” he told NITV.
“In fact, everything you see on that page is AI. All of it. The character. The wildlife. The interactions. None of it is real.”
Duffy has also raised serious safety concerns, warning the content may encourage the public to interact with extremely dangerous and highly venomous wildlife.
“It sets a bad example for people. Adults and children alike - wild animals are wild animals, they’re not placid pets for people to play with. They need to leave it to the professionals,” he said.
Dr Terri Janke - a Wuthathi, Yadhaigana and Meriam lawyer and international authority on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP), says AI can pose real risks to First Nations people, from cultural misappropriation and exploitation, to economic loss and the perpetuation of harmful or inaccurate representations.
“It takes space from real First Nations voices. It would be empowering to see real Indigenous rangers, not digital stand-ins,” she told NITV.
“Learning about Country and culture should be affirming, but when Aboriginal identity is simulated through AI without cultural respect and protocol, it becomes another way culture is taken, repackaged and exploited for attention and profit."
Janke has previously emphasised that AI has "no Dreaming, no kinship, no connection to Country or cultural obligation."
Because of that, AI can’t respect who is permitted to share certain stories, images or language — meaning it can misrepresent sacred knowledge and disrespect cultural law.
In response the growing criticisms, Bush Legend creator Keagan Mason has digitally prompted ‘Jarren’ to address those comments.
“I’m not here to represent any culture or group and this channel is simply about animal stories,” 'Jarren' says in one of the last videos.
“If this isn’t your thing - no worries - scroll and move on,” he says.
In calling out the Mason’s use of AI, viewers and social media users are encouraging people to follow real life wildlife and adventure content creators or Indigenous Rangers or Aboriginal community social media pages.
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