Fact Check: Did Tupac Shakur Really Appear on an Unreleased ‘Sesame Street’ Episode?

Growing concerns over deepfake technology have emerged once again as a fabricated video purporting to show the late rapper Tupac Shakur on “Sesame Street” gained traction across social media platforms in late October 2025.

The convincing but entirely artificial footage, which claimed to be from an “unaired episode” of the beloved children’s program, was distributed by a network of social media accounts operating under the name “Tuna Edits.” The video quickly spread across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, prompting numerous inquiries about its authenticity.

After careful analysis, fact-checkers have definitively concluded the video is fake. There is no evidence that Shakur, who died in 1996, ever appeared on any episode of “Sesame Street” – aired or otherwise. The footage displays multiple telltale signs of artificial intelligence generation, specifically hallmarks of OpenAI’s Sora 2 video model.

Digital forensics specialists identified several technical anomalies that betray the video’s artificial nature. Throughout the compilation, Shakur inexplicably changes outfits approximately ten times – an impractical number of wardrobe changes for a single television appearance. Classic “Sesame Street” characters appear distorted in ways that defy their established designs. Cookie Monster, famously lacking a nose, inexplicably sports an orange one, while Big Bird displays an anatomically incorrect nose on the end of his beak.

Perhaps most revealing is the presence of Sora’s moving watermark, briefly visible at timestamps 0:06 and 0:24 in the compilation. OpenAI implements this watermark specifically to distinguish AI-generated content from authentic footage.

“This is a clear example of how deepfake technology continues to advance and potentially mislead viewers,” said Dr. Melissa Chen, digital media researcher at Northwestern University, who was not directly involved in debunking the video. “The quality of these fakes improves monthly, making detection increasingly challenging for average users.”

The fabricated footage appears to be part of a broader pattern from Tuna Edits, which has published numerous AI-generated videos featuring the late rapper in fictional scenarios. Another recent creation depicted Shakur in a non-existent sci-fi film titled “Thugs in Black” – a parody of the “Men in Black” franchise.

What raises additional ethical concerns is that Tuna Edits actively solicits donations to “help bring more Tuna Edits animations to life,” suggesting the creators may be monetizing these fabrications by implying authenticity. When contacted for comment about the Shakur footage, Tuna Edits did not respond to requests for clarification.

Comprehensive searches through media archives and the exhaustive “Sesame Street Guest Stars” database maintained by Muppet Wiki revealed no historical record of Shakur’s appearance on the program. Had such a collaboration occurred, it would almost certainly have been documented given the rapper’s significant cultural impact and celebrity status.

This incident highlights growing concerns about AI-generated content that presents fabricated scenarios as historical fact. As deepfake technology becomes more sophisticated and accessible, distinguishing between authentic and manipulated content presents an increasing challenge for viewers, especially when content features deceased individuals who cannot dispute such portrayals.

Media literacy experts recommend viewers exercise heightened skepticism toward unusual or surprising “found footage” of celebrities, particularly when the content lacks provenance details or appears exclusively on social media rather than established news or archival sources.

This isn’t the first time Tupac’s image has been manipulated in viral misinformation. Previous debunked claims included fabricated friendships with conservationist Steve Irwin and falsified photographs with Osama bin Laden – further examples of how the rapper’s enduring cultural relevance makes him a frequent target for digital manipulation.