Latest news with #ShuHu
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
False posts share AI-generated footage of fire caused by gas leak in Malaysia
"Malaysia: A major fire broke out in a fuel pipeline and spread to surrounding areas. Damage and casualties are yet to be determined," reads the Vietnamese-language caption of a Facebook clip shared on April 1, 2025. The video, which was viewed more than 190,000 times, purportedly shows the fire and plumes of smoke wafting over nearby buildings. "I am now at Putra Heights," says someone in Malay, referring to a residential area near Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur where a massive fire caused by a gas pipeline leak started on April 1 (archived link). More than 100 people were injured by the fire, which started as residents were enjoying a public holiday for Eid celebrations in the Muslim-majority country. Screenshots from the video were shared elsewhere in similar posts on Facebook here and here and on TikTok. But the video circulating online differs from footage of the April 1 inferno and the surrounding area available on AFP's YouTube channel (archived link). Google Street View imagery of Putra Heights also looks different to how it is depicted in the circulating video -- the buildings in the area are less densely packed, with more greenery surrounding them (archived link). Shu Hu, head of Purdue University's Machine Learning and Media Forensics Lab, told AFP in an April 8 email there are at least two clues that indicate the footage used in the circulating video was generated by AI (archived link). He first pointed to cars seemingly passing through one another in the right lane of the road leading from the fire. He also said vehicles in the road's left lane "move at an unnaturally rapid speed". "Initially, numerous cars are visible; however, they quickly and inexplicably vanish from the scene." While there is no foolproof method to spot AI-generated media, identifying watermarks and visual inconsistencies can help, as errors still occur despite the meteoric progress in generative AI. AFP has debunked other posts that falsely presented AI generated images and videos here.
AFP
09-04-2025
- AFP
False posts share AI-generated footage of fire caused by gas leak in Malaysia
"Malaysia: A major fire broke out in a fuel pipeline and spread to surrounding areas. Damage and casualties are yet to be determined," reads the Vietnamese-language caption of a Facebook clip shared on April 1, 2025. The video, which was viewed more than 190,000 times, purportedly shows the fire and plumes of smoke wafting over nearby buildings. "I am now at Putra Heights," says someone in Malay, referring to a residential area near Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur where a massive fire caused by a gas pipeline leak started on April 1 (archived link). More than 100 people were injured by the fire, which started as residents were enjoying a public holiday for Eid celebrations in the Muslim-majority country. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on April 8, 2025 Screenshots from the video were shared elsewhere in similar posts on Facebook here and here and on TikTok. But the video circulating online differs from footage of the April 1 inferno and the surrounding area available on AFP's YouTube channel . Google Street View imagery of Putra Heights also looks different to how it is depicted in the circulating video -- the buildings in the area are less densely packed, with more greenery surrounding them . Shu Hu, head of Purdue University's Machine Learning and Media Forensics Lab, there are at least two clues that indicate the footage used in the circulating video was generated by AI (archived link). He first pointed to cars seemingly passing through one another in the right lane of the road leading from the fire. Image Screenshots from the AI-generated video, showing cars seemingly passing through each other He also said vehicles in the road's left lane "move at an unnaturally rapid speed". "Initially, ; however, they quickly and inexplicably vanish from the scene." Image Screenshots from the AI-generated video, showing cars apparently to disappearing While there is no foolproof method to spot AI-generated media, identifying watermarks and visual inconsistencies can help, as errors still occur despite the meteoric progress in generative AI. AFP has debunked other posts that falsely presented AI generated images and videos here.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Footage bearing AI signs falsely presented as Myanmar quake aftermath
"Oh! Mandalay, it's like the city has fallen," reads the Burmese-language caption to the clip shared on Facebook one day after the quake. It has more than 11,000 views and depicts an aerial view of a devastated city with pagodas visible on the skyline. Text superimposed on the clip also says it shows the destruction in Mandalay. The video also surfaced in similar posts written in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Spanish, Tamil, Thai and Urdu as reports emerged about the damage in the city from the shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The head of the ruling junta, Min Aung Hlaing, said on April 1 that 2,719 people were confirmed dead so far, with more than 4,500 injured and 441 still missing (archived link). The toll is expected to rise significantly as rescuers reach towns and villages where communications have been cut off by the quake. Hundreds of kilometres away, Bangkok authorities said the death toll there had risen to 20, the vast majority killed when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction in the Thai capital collapsed. Comments to the posts indicate social media users believed the video shows genuine visuals following the quake. "Oh! Mandalay, my heart is broken," one wrote. Another said: "There's hardly anything left in the entire town." A reverse image search on Google using the video's keyframes found a nearly identical video on X on March 29. Although its caption does not directly indicate the clip was made with AI, the logo of the generative tool Wan AI is visible at the bottom right corner of the higher quality footage (archived link). Visual errors also suggest the video was generated using an AI tool, according to experts. Shu Hu, director of Purdue University's Machine Learning and Media Forensics Lab, told AFP that trees in the clip lack visible roots while a person walks in a way not consistent with natural human motion (archived link). Siwei Lyu, director of the University at Buffalo's Media Forensics Lab, separately pointed out the Wan AI watermark, and that the shadows of objects in the clip are inconsistent in direction and size (archived link). While there is no foolproof method to spot AI-generated media, identifying watermarks and visual defects can help, as errors still occur despite the meteoric progress in generative AI. AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the earthquake in Myanmar here.
AFP
02-04-2025
- AFP
Footage bearing AI signs falsely presented as Myanmar quake aftermath
"Oh! Mandalay, it's like the city has fallen," reads the Burmese-language caption to the clip shared on Facebook one day after the quake. It has more than 11,000 views and depicts an aerial view of a devastated city with pagodas visible on the skyline. Text superimposed on the clip also says it shows the destruction in Mandalay. Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on April 1, 2025 The video also surfaced in similar posts written in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Spanish, Tamil, Thai and Urdu as reports emerged about the damage in the city from the shallow 7.7-magnitude earthquake. The head of the ruling junta, Min Aung Hlaing, said on April 1 that 2,719 people were confirmed dead so far, with more than 4,500 injured and 441 still missing (archived link). The toll is expected to rise significantly as rescuers reach towns and villages where communications have been cut off by the quake. Hundreds of kilometres away, Bangkok authorities said the death toll there had risen to 20, the vast majority killed when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction in the Thai capital collapsed. Comments to the posts indicate social media users believed the video shows genuine visuals following the quake. "Oh! Mandalay, my heart is broken," one wrote. Another said: "There's hardly anything left in the entire town." 'Made with Wan AI' A reverse image search on Google using the video's keyframes found a nearly identical video on X on March 29. Although its caption does not directly indicate the clip was made with AI, the logo of the generative tool Wan AI is visible at the bottom right corner of the higher quality footage (archived link). Image Wan AI logo at the bottom right corner of the video highlighted by AFP Visual errors also suggest the video was generated using an AI tool, according to experts. Shu Hu, director of Purdue University's Machine Learning and Media Forensics Lab, told AFP that trees in the clip lack visible roots while a person walks in a way not consistent with natural human motion (archived link). Siwei Lyu, director of the University at Buffalo's Media Forensics Lab, separately pointed out the Wan AI watermark, and that the shadows of objects in the clip are inconsistent in direction and size (archived link). Image Visual inconsistencies in the video highlighted by Shu Hu (L) and Siwei Lyu While there is no foolproof method to spot AI-generated media, identifying watermarks and visual defects can help, as errors still occur despite the meteoric progress in generative AI. AFP has previously debunked misinformation related to the earthquake in Myanmar here.
AFP
01-04-2025
- AFP
Video of 'Myanmar earthquake aftermath' bears AI signs
A video showing damaged roads, buildings and a fire was shared on Facebook on March 29. Text overlaid on the clip reads, "Myanmar Earthquake. 17M people Affected. God save all people. Pray" Image Screenshot of AI-generated video taken on March 31, 2025 The clip also swirled across TikTok and YouTube, and spread in countries such as Russia, China, Thailand, South Korea and India. But it does not show actual scenes of devastation in Myanmar or Thailand. The TikTok username "@ Image Screenshot of false posts with the username highlighted by AFP A review of the account did not find the original video, but many of its videos bear the watermarks for a US-based company on generative AI technology Runway, and video generator platform MINIMAX Hailuo AI (archived here and here). Image Image Screenshots of videos uploaded on the TikTok account, with the watermarks highlighted by AFP Shu Hu, head of Purdue University's Machine Learning and Media Forensics Lab in the United States, told AFP on March 30 that he believes the video was AI-generated (archived link). "The primary indication is that the individuals depicted in the video remain unnaturally stationary, whereas the fire visible in the distance exhibits realistic motion. This inconsistency strongly suggests artificial synthesis or manipulation," he explained. Image Screenshot of the post, with parts showing it was made with AI highlighted by the expert
