Man who videotaped himself BASE jumping in Yosemite arrested. He says it was AI

The internet is doing backflips over a California man charged with allegedly leaping off Yosemite’s Glacier Point—then telling a ranger the Instagram video was just AI slapping his face onto someone else’s jump. The complaint says a license plate reader logged his car at the park and photos show him rocking those same purple mirrored shades from the clip. But the comments? Absolute chaos.

One camp is cracking up, calling it the new “my dog ate my homework.” The top pun so far: “Plausible denAIbility.” Another thread’s fuming about surveillance, pointing to those plate readers—“this flock stuff is b.a.d.”—and warning we’re sliding into Big Brother. A more sober crowd says welcome to the deepfake era: expect way more “it was AI” defenses and bigger digital forensics fights. One user says finding the original on a GoPro would be the smoking gun.

Then there’s the thrill-seeker debate: Why is BASE jumping (buildings, antennas, spans, earth) illegal in national parks? Rangers say it risks rescuers and visitors; commenters argue adults should be allowed to yeet off cliffs if they accept the danger. Adding spice: he’s representing himself in court—cue popcorn—and the jump allegedly happened during last fall’s government shutdown when rule-breakers reportedly got bold. He’s due April 7. Yosemite’s message: Do it responsibly or don’t do it at all.