LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – A viral video garnering 1.6 million views has made false claims, using organizations and people in the Lake Tahoe area, that toxic waste barrels, human remains, and dumped cars litter the bottom of the lake. Footage from both Lake Tahoe and several other bodies of water, AI-generated images and voices as well as false citations of quotes to organizations and people has led to those organizations taking steps to address this and multiple other videos of that nature.
The video in question, produced by a content farming account called Optic Expedition, sits along others produced in rapid succession: claiming proof of aliens in The Last Supper painting, anti-gravity technology and multiple conspiracies about Hitler.
While it shows real news footage, videos of Lake Tahoe, pictures from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and even ROV footage from the Tahoe Fund and Restoring the Lake’s Depths dive from last year, it’s intercut with AI-generated footage and images and videos taken out of context. The video description itself even has a disclaimer, as required by YouTube, that the sounds or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated.
Over the 26-minute video, an AI-generated voice claims that after a drought in 2024, it was discovered that toxic waste barrels and dumped cars related to missing persons or murder cases were found at the bottom of the lake. It also claims that ROV footage related to potential dead bodies at the bottom of the lake were retained by law enforcement. It attributes research on these to TERC and its Director Emeritus Geoffrey Schladow, Clean up the Lake and its CEO Colin West, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA.)
West said in a public release, “Clean Up The Lake has not discovered multiple vehicles, toxic waste barrels, human remains and the environmental contamination as described in the video. Quotes attributed to Clean Up The Lake or Colin West in the video are fabricated. Our footage was used without our knowledge or permission.”
The release goes on to say that Clean Up The Lake has no involvement with ROV investigations, chemical analyses or law enforcement activities as described in the video. “None of these events occurred.”
Cara Kiger Hollis, communications and marketing specialist at the TERC, said, “There’s basically nothing in that video that’s true except that Lake Tahoe is here, and there’s water in it. Our images from the TERC were used for made-up, story-telling purposes, and everything they’ve said about the TERC is untrue. That video was made for clicks.”
The central claim in the story, that there was a record-breaking drought in 2024, is patently false. TERC’s State of the Lake and other reports show that the lake was at normal to high levels that year.
Hollis also stated that the TERC never received data from Clean Up The Lake on such claims, and they used unrelated footage of Schladow from talks they have hosted.
While there may not be toxic chemicals seeping from barrels below the lake, people are certainly on high alert for chemical impacts on the lake, especially after discussions of the use of the herbicide glyphosate (commercially sold as RoundUp) from the U.S. Forest Service in treating areas affected by the Caldor Fire.
However, the TERC regularly monitors the lake, its composition and its clarity, especially because of the concerns around aquatic invasive species and algal blooms—actual threats to the lake and community health. “There are real things people should be paying attention to,” said Hollis, and directed people to the TERC’s State of the Lake reports.
“Clean Up The Lake remains committed to the conservation of Lake Tahoe through underwater litter removal, data collection, education and honest work,” said West’s statement. “The organization has received an incredible amount of support from donors, volunteers, and partners whose generosity we also defend. For accurate information about our work, please rely only on our official website and social media channels.”
While this video has garnered millions of views (as opposed to the paltry hundred or thousand their other videos have gotten), other similar content mills have put out similar false narratives. In the official statement, Clean Up The Lake said they have requested the videos be removed and are taking appropriate steps to address the situation.
