Green Day has entered the AI controversy swirling around Will Smith, using their own tour to make a sly point about real crowds versus digitally questionable ones. The veteran punk band posted a TikTok from their South American tour this week, showing a packed audience belting along to “Basket Case” while pressed against the barricade. The clip was accompanied by a cheeky caption: “Don’t need AI for our crowds.”

The post was more than just a routine tour update. It was a pointed reference to the ongoing speculation that Smith, rapper, actor, and musician, may have used artificial intelligence to enhance a recent concert video. Nearly two weeks ago, Smith uploaded a montage celebrating his fans from a run of European shows. The video, which stitched together shots of cheering audiences holding signs and waving from the pit, came with an affectionate caption: “My favorite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too.”

At first, the video drew the kind of engagement Smith might have hoped for. But online sleuths soon began to question its authenticity. Viewers noticed blurred or distorted faces, strangely polished features, and even anomalies like extra fingers or oddly shaped hands among audience members. The glitches quickly sparked speculation that some or all of the footage had been generated or heavily altered using AI tools.

The accusations have lingered without clarification. Neither Smith nor his representatives have addressed the controversy, and the debate has continued to swirl across platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and X. The lack of comment has only fueled suspicion, with fans dissecting freeze-frames and zooming in on faces to spot potential errors.

Adding to the confusion, some analysts have argued that the situation is not as straightforward as critics suggest. Andy Baio, a well-known tech blogger, took a deep dive into the case, cross-referencing the video with Smith’s past Instagram posts. Baio noted that several of the questionable images, especially those featuring fans holding signs, had already appeared in still photos uploaded by Smith prior to the video’s release. This raised the possibility that Smith’s team may not have fabricated crowds, but instead used AI or machine learning tools to animate pre-existing images into short video clips.

Baio also pointed to another wrinkle: YouTube’s own involvement. According to The Atlantic, a YouTube spokesperson admitted the platform has been experimenting with image-enhancement technology on certain Shorts. The system uses machine learning to sharpen clarity, unblur details, and reduce noise in uploaded clips. This means that some of the bizarre facial distortions could be unintended side effects of YouTube’s automated processes rather than deliberate choices made by Smith or his team.

Baio ultimately suggested that AI likely played some role in the creation of Smith’s video, but not necessarily for deceptive purposes. Instead, he argued it seemed more likely that Smith’s team used an “image-to-video” model to bring still concert photos to life, producing a montage that looked like dynamic fan footage. He likened it to a recent project by filmmaker Andrew Dominik, who used similar technology to animate old photographs of Elvis Presley for a Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds music video.