The Investigation of Lucy Letby on Netflix under fire for use of “AI slop”

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So, there’s this new documentary on Netflix about Lucy Letby, the nurse who harmed babies, covering her arrest, trial, and everything. But honestly, people are really upset about it. They’re saying the filmmakers used AI to change how some of the people involved look – like digital masks – and a lot of viewers think that’s messed up and unfair. It’s causing a big stir, and honestly, it’s a bit weird to watch knowing that’s going on.

The documentary, The Investigation of Lucy Letby, tells the disturbing story of a neonatal nurse who has become known as the UK’s most dangerous child killer.

In August 2023, Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies and trying to kill seven others while working as a nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.

The documentary builds a case against the woman through interviews with doctors, police, and lawyers, while also highlighting increasing worries that her conviction may have been a serious mistake. However, the way the Netflix film was made has also faced criticism.

“Digital Anonymisation” called into question during Lucy Letby doc

The documentary about Lucy Letby uses interviews with many people involved in the case. It also includes testimony from two individuals who have been kept anonymous: the mother of one of the babies who died, and a friend of Letby herself.

The documentary immediately addresses the fact that some participants have been kept anonymous. At the beginning, text appears on screen stating that their identities have been changed – their names, faces, and voices have all been altered.

It feels unsettling when a face that looks almost human, but clearly isn’t, appears on screen with the label “digitally anonymized.” Critics have largely disapproved of using this technique when discussing such delicate and personal topics.

The Telegraph also questions the choice to use ‘digital anonymisation’ for certain individuals involved, noting that the AI avatars, while intended to be realistic, come across as unsettling and don’t quite fit the serious tone of the film.

The Evening Standard strongly criticized the show’s use of AI, explaining that the production team used it to disguise the faces of people sharing deeply personal and difficult experiences – like the loss of a baby or dealing with PTSD. The paper found this particularly upsetting, as the AI-generated, blank faces didn’t match the emotional weight of what the speakers were saying.

Viewers haven’t been happy with the AI used in the film. One Rotten Tomatoes reviewer, Kelsey S, explained that while the story is genuinely moving and based on real people’s experiences, using AI to recreate those people as characters was distracting and made it harder to connect with the emotions.

AI can be incredibly helpful for speeding up production, especially for tasks that are normally time-consuming. However, in this particular case, it actually detracted from the storytelling. Netflix has been actively using AI in its shows, but this recent example wasn’t a strong demonstration of its potential.

Instead of interviewing people in dark rooms with distorted voices, modern techniques now use digital anonymization, though this can still be unsettling.

The Times praised the film’s use of technology, noting that it digitally concealed the face of Sarah, the person giving testimony, to protect her privacy while still conveying her emotional pain and strength.

You can now watch ‘The Investigation of Lucy Letby’ on Netflix. If you’re looking for more documentaries, check out what else is new this month. For truly shocking or creepy options, you’ll find the best Netflix and YouTube documentaries linked here.

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2026-02-04 14:19