May 24, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT Of the hundreds of “LabGerm” videos posted and reposted to social media in recent weeks, most start out the same way: A pair of gloved hands appears against a white backdrop as an AI-generated voice narrates and upbeat music plays in the background. In the foreground, a fish undergoes a torturous “experiment.” Some of the videos appear to have been made entirely or at least in part with AI, while others seem to show real animals in distress.