Latest news with #Indonesian-language
AFP
2 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Video of 'German strike on Israel' is AI-generated
"Germany attacks Israel. What's going on?" reads the Indonesian-language text on a Facebook video shared on June 30, 2025. The clip appears to show an explosion in a built-up area, along with a caption that largely repeats the false claim. Image Screenshot of false post with red X added by AFP, taken on July 16, 2025 Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged the foes to respect the truce (archived link). The clip also spread on YouTube, Threads, and SnackVideo, along with the false claim. Some users appear to believe the footage is genuine, linking it to the recen "The Jews were Germany's enemies during Adolf Hitler's time," said one user. Another wrote, "Impressive". But the video is AI-generated. A reverse image search on Google led to a YouTube video uploaded on June 23, 2025, titled "Shocking giant blas (sic) in Middle East, still confirming" (archived link). The clip is labelled "Altered or synthetic content", and that its "sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated". Image Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and YouTube video labelled as made with AI There is also a watermark that reads "Kling AI" in the bottom right corner of the clip -- a tool used to generate images into videos (archived link). Visual inconsistencies can also be seen in the clip -- including that explosion not having any impact on the surrounding area -- which strongly indicates a video made using AI. Image Screenshot of the YouTube video with visual inconsistencies highlighted in red by AFP AFP also debunked numerous misinformation related to the Iran-Israel war (archived link).
AFP
6 days ago
- AFP
Video of a rally driver misrepresented as the 'sleeping prince' of Saudi Arabia
"Saudi Arabian prince woke up after 20 years of coma," reads an Indonesian-language TikTok post shared on June 20, 2025. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Khalid bin Talal has been in coma since a car accident in 2005, BBC News Arabic reported (archived link). The TikTok video shows a man in a hospital bed surrounded by men in Saudi national dress. Image Screenshot of the false post, taken July 15, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Similar videos have also been shared on TikTok and Facebook, racking up more than 3.7 million views. But the video does not show the "sleeping prince." Keyword searches on Facebook and TikTok led to an April 16 video captioned "Yazeed al-Rajhi", shared by an account that often shares clips of prominent Saudi figures (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison between false post (left) and the TikTok video (right) The caption reads "Yazeed Al Rajhi" in Arabic, here). Yazeed suffered a spine injury after an accident during a race in Jordan on April 12 (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the video of Yazeed al-Rajhi in hospital (L) and the racer's profile image (R) Another TikTok post shared on April 16 shows the longer version of the clip, with overlaid text that reads, "His Excellency Ahmed bin Suleiman Al-Rajhi, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development" in Arabic (archived here and here). An AFP journalist covering the Middle East confirmed the videos show Yazeed in his hospital bed meeting the minister. The official Facebook account of Yazeed's racing team and CNN Arabic also published photos of him receiving other visitors in hospital wearing the same shirt (archived here and here). As of July 15, there are no official reports that the Saudi prince has awakened from his coma.
AFP
09-07-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Football riot clip falsely linked to Thailand-Cambodia dispute
"Misfortune occurred after Thailand sealed the border," reads the Thai-language caption of a Facebook video viewed more than three million times since it was posted on June 15. "See Cambodia is doomed. The leader led his people to ruin," reads text superimposed over the clip depicting hundreds of people rushing at officers behind a gate. Similar posts linking the video to turmoil in Cambodia surfaced elsewhere on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok after longstanding tensions with neighbouring Thailand escalated into cross-border clashes in late May, with one Cambodian soldier killed. Image Screenshot of the false post taken on July 1, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Thailand closed several of its border crossings with Cambodia, while the latter halted imports of fuel, fruits and vegetables, banned Thai dramas from TV and cinemas, and cut internet bandwidth from Thailand (archived link). Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended pending a probe into her ethics after the audio of a diplomatic call between the two sides intended to sooth the spat was leaked, triggering public outrage. However, the circulating video was in fact taken in Indonesia. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video, along with keyword searches, led to a longer version of the same footage published on TikTok on May 26, 2025 (archived link). Its Indonesian-language description includes a location tag for "Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium, Bandung City," in the western part of Indonesia's Java island. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the TikTok video posted in May (right) Elements in the video correspond to Google Maps Street View imagery of the area outside the sport stadium from March 2020, which shows the back of a sign over a gate, the same guard house and a mosque dome in the background, which has since been repainted (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the TikTok video (left) and Google Street View imagery (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP According to Indonesian media reports, thousands of supporters of the Persib Bandung football team with no tickets tried to force their way into the stadium during a final match on May 24, leading to the clashes (archived here and here). AFP has fact-checked other misinformation related to the Thailand-Cambodia border dispute.
AFP
09-07-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Ukraine explosion clip misrepresented as Mideast conflict
" ," reads an Indonesian-language TikTok post shared on June 28, 2025. The short video shows an explosion at night near a building complex. Image Screenshot of the false post captured July 8, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The video also surfaced on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and was shared in posts written in English, Arabic and Azerbaijani. The Middle East adversaries traded devastating missile attacks after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities (archived link). The strikes left more than 900 people dead in Iran and 28 people dead in Israel. A ceasefire announced on June 24 ended the war (archived link). A reverse image search of keyframes on Google found a higher quality version of the video uploaded on the website ViralHog (archived link). "A Shahed drone, launched by Russian forces, strikes a residential high-rise building in Kyiv, Ukraine. The video captures the exact moment of impact and explosion," reads its caption which states the clip was filmed June 9, 2025. Image Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and the ViralHog video The reverse search also yielded pages that show a similar looking apartment complex in Ukraine (archived here and here). A picture of a building in Kyiv uploaded by a Ukraine-based real estate company matches elements in the circulating clip including the yellow fence around the park and an entrance door (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of falsely shared video (L) and a picture from a Ukraine-based real estate firm, with similarities highlighted by AFP AFP has debunked other false claims about the Iran-Israel war here.
AFP
04-07-2025
- AFP
Clip shows Peruvian pilgrimage, not Israelis fleeing war with Iran
"Blue refugee tents cover the slopes, filled with Israelis fleeing from city bunkers," reads Indonesian-language text on a TikTok video shared on June 25, 2025. Viewed more than 160,000 times, the video shows an overhead view of crowds moving between densely packed tents in a mountain valley. Its caption claims it shows an Egyptian mountainside. The video circulated a day after a brought an end to the Iran-Israel war (archived link). The arch foes traded devastating missile attacks after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign targeting Iran's nuclear and military facilities. The than 900 people dead in Iran and 28 people dead in Israel (archived link). Governments around the world had evacuated thousands of their nationals caught up in the conflict, organising buses and planes and in some cases assisting people crossing borders on foot (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false TikTok post captured on July 4, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The same footage was shared in similar posts elsewhere on Facebook and SnackVideo. But the video does not show Israeli refugees nor was it filmed in Egypt. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same footage uploaded on June 19 (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the June 19 Facebook video (right) A keyword search of the video's caption led to an entry on the UNESCO website for the "Pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllurit'i", which was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011 (archived here). According to the entry, the pilgrimage "combines elements from Catholicism and worship of pre-Hispanic nature deities". "It begins fifty-eight days after the Christian celebration of Easter Sunday, when 90,000 people from around Cusco travel to the sanctuary, located in Sinakara hollow." Structures seen in Google Maps satellite imagery of the sanctuary in southern Peru also correspond to buildings visible in the falsely shared footage (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared footage (left) and Google Maps satellite imagery (right), with corresponding elements highlighted by AFP Video available on Google Maps appearing to show rows of blue tents and scores of pilgrims in June 2025 also matches the falsely shared footage (archived link). AFP has debunked other false claims about the Iran-Israel war here.
