Breaking down the culture war against “Therians”: AI-driven social media frenzy or politically charged disinformation campaign?
A wave of viral AI-distorted social media videos has caught the attention of some of the far-right and anti-gender campaigners, stirring controversy especially in the Spanish-speaking world about an a
Members of the far-right are stirring controversy with claims that an alleged group of people, known as “therians”, who identify on a psychological, physical and spiritual level with animals, are demanding equal rights. Making comparisons to transgender people, some have railed against therians claiming they are a ripple effect of “woke culture”.
Fuelled by viral AI-generated videos thrusting therians into the spotlight, fears mount that far-right influencers are exploiting the sudden interest in this community that is rooted in a small Internet subculture in order to ridicule and discredit marginalised identities and bolster anti-gender rhetoric.
Mass anxieties about an Internet craze spur local action in Guatemala
In Latin America, a few influencers’ have helped propel the topic offline and into real life, making news headlines that spread as far as Spain and remote Guatemala. Their campaign have been fuelled by AI videos garnering millions of views.
TikTok and Instagram videos of young people walking on all fours in public spaces have gone viral and have raised concerns among some politicians. Some are asking whether this is an AI-generated phenomenon, pure fantasy exploited by far-right advocates or a wider disinformation campaign.
The noise around this small community has even raised concern in the remote city of Huehuetenango, in the highlands of western Guatemala, where local authorities published a statement on Facebook on Monday, February 23, prohibiting gatherings of therians in a public square. Concerned by breaches of moral codes, they warned that “activities, exhibitions or gatherings” require authorisation from the municipality, it said.
“In this regard, activities linked to groups identified as “Therian” or other demonstrations without the corresponding permit are prohibited,” the statement read.
“Actions that disturb public order or violate moral standards and good customs in Guatemala will not be permitted.”
The ban was mentioned in a TikTok video captioned “Therians have arrived in Guatemala” and featured alleged TV news reports about this small subculture in public spaces. Ominous clips boast similar captions in other countries such as “Therians have arrived in Spain”.
Fake accounts and AI manipulation distort outside perspective
In one instance, TikTok and Instagram accounts purporting to belong to a Colombian teenager called Emanuel shared a series of videos of therians crouching on all fours at a shopping mall, with captions reading: “Therians have arrived in Colombia”. In one clip viewed more than 22 million times, a woman shouts that therians frightened her dog. Aside from therian content, the account also posts videos of the boy cooking alongside a guinea pig wearing a sombrero, demonstrating the use of AI.
In several AI-generated videos of fake therian protests, shared on Instagram by an account called Jaranor Films describing itself as a digital content creator, Spanish police are seen arresting people wearing wolf and fox masks. In one such video (archived here), a woman wearing deer ears and makeup shouts at a police officer in Spanish, “Respect our rights, respect that we are animals”, before he sprays her eyes with an orange bottle. Several glitches, audio and visual inconsistencies – such as distorted text on a banner – appear in the videos, confirming they are AI-generated.
A text distortion on a banner in the background of one video purported to have been filmed in Spain is an evident sign of AI use.
What is not clear, however, is why these accounts have emerged now or who is behind it.
A trend made in Latin American social media… and moving into politics?
Spanish Member of the European Parliament Irene Montero, in a video posted last week, blamed Argentine President Javier Milei of politically engineering the Internet frenzy around therians. She said Milei was blowing up what is neither a widespread trend nor a cause for societal concern but simply a way to fuel hate speech against transgender people.
Remarks made by Milei in a 2023 interview resurfaced in recent weeks in which he discussed gender identity and said: “If you want to see yourself as a puma, that’s fine, in fact, I’ll call you a puma if you want, but don’t force it on me.”
His comments were picked up by alternatrive online news websites in Latin America and shared on social media with claims it was said as part of a recent public statement.
In Spain, Google searches for therians rose sharply last week, peaking on February 20, according to Google Trends. Worldwide data showed a clear Spanish-language trend, with therian-related searches spiking. The number of searches with the key terms “que es un therian” and “therian que es” (meaning, “what is a therian?”) rose by +1,350% in February, compared to the previous month.
Internet searches on Google in Spain for the key term “therian” over the past month. Source: Google Trends.
Internet searches on Google in Spain for the key term “therian” over the last five years. Source: Google Trends.
Internet searches on Google worldwide for the key term “therian” over the last five years. Source: Google Trends.
In Spain, a rally billed as planned by therians drew thousands of people in Barcelona though most appeared to be curiosity-seekers with some far-right activists from the Vox party also setting up tents nearby. Very few actually geared out in animal outfits turned up. Meanwhile, unverified reports claimed violent confrontations took place. All in all, the event stood out for the estimated 4,000 people that came out to laugh at the therians and film videos.
Do therians actually exist?
According to a sociological study, the term “therian” was first employed in the 1990s, with usage picking up more significantly in the early 2000s.
On Reddit, the forum “r/therians”, created in 2010, claims around 28 000 members, describing itself as “a friendly community support group for therians, otherkin, allies, and anyone else who wants to learn more about the subject of therianthropy and therians themselves”. Otherkin refers to those identifying as fantastical creatures such as vampires, werewolves and elves.
A moderator of the Subreddit forum last week posted about the news out of Latin America. “The social media focus on our therian siblings in South America is far from positive right now,” they wrote and described the group as a “safe space”. Noting an influx of new members, they warned users not to share their location or country of residence publicly.
One anonymous user wrote only last week: “It’s so hard now to find recent therian posts that isn’t from people who aren’t from the community”.
Backlash from transgender people
The sudden spotlight on therians has angered many within the LGBTQ community. Some transgender activists say that while they are harmless, therians should not compare themselves or identify as LGBTQ people, as they are a form of spirituality, rather than a gender identity.
“Therians are more of a new cultural identity or a form of spiritual identity, but they have no validity in psychology, medicine, anthropology, or any serious science,” Camila D. Aurora, a transgender influencer who discusses social issues on her channels, said in a video earlier this month.
For her, contrary to transgender individuals, therians have no psychological basis.
“They weren’t born this way; animal dysphoria doesn’t exist, nor does anything like that. And it’s very annoying when they say that if the identity of trans people is valid, then the identity of Therians is too.” By contrast, she said, transgender people have earned rights “because all the sciences that have studied us converge on our validity.”
Final thoughts
While people who identify as therians do seem to exist, the current focus on them in social media circles seems to be driven by AI and magnified beyond its actual scope by curious onlookers and those seeking to sow divisions by promoting ‘anti-woke’ narratives.
SOURCES
Baldwin, Clive; Ripley, Lauren. Available at: “Exploring Other-Than-Human Identity: A Narrative Approach to Otherkin, Therianthropes, and Vampires”. Qualitative Sociology Review: 2.
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