Latest news with #Sinhala-language
AFP
31-07-2025
- Climate
- AFP
Old video from S.Africa falsely linked to Russia mega-quake
"A powerful tsunami hits Russia, sea waves over 13 feet high enter Russia," reads a Sinhala-language Facebook post shared hours after the 8.8 magnitude jolt struck off the coast of Russia's Kamchatka peninsula (archived link). The tremor was the region's strongest since 1952, the regional seismic monitoring service said. Storm surges of up to four metres (12 feet) were predicted for some parts of the Pacific with more than a dozen nations -- from Japan to the United States to Ecuador -- evacuating citizens from coastal regions. The warnings were later lifted, allowing millions of temporary evacuees to return home. The only reported fatality was a woman killed when her car fell off a cliff in Japan as she tried to escape, local media reported. The post featured a video of waves crashing onto the shore as people flee from the beach. Image Screenshot of the Facebook post taken on July 31, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Similar posts were also shared by users from India, Pakistan, and the Philippines but the footage does not show a tsunami hitting Russia. A reverse image search on Google surfaced multiple YouTube posts sharing the clip in March 2017 (archived here and here). The posts say it shows a beach in the coastal city of Durban. Image Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the original video Local media outlets eNCA and Southlands Sun reported that the beaches were closed due to the high tides at the time (archived here and here). Using details from the news reports, AFP was able to confirm the location of the video by comparing it with Google Maps street imagery of a beach in Durban.
AFP
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- AFP
Image of 'Japanese volcano spewing lava and ash' is AI-generated
"Japan's Shinmoedake volcano has erupted," reads part of the Sinhala-language caption of an image shared on Facebook on July 4, 2025. "A minor explosion was seen and due to this a plume of ash emerged 3,000 metres into the sky, and the cities across Kagoshima and Miyazaki are covered in dense smoke." The image supposedly shows lava and thick grey smoke spewing from the volcanic eruption. In the foreground there are red and white cars, and drivers and passengers who appear to have stepped out of the vehicles to witness the eruption. It surfaced after Mount Shinmoedake, a volcano in the Kirishima mountain range bordering Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in southwestern Japan, erupted on June 22 (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on July 14, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The same image was shared in similar posts elsewhere on Facebook. "Oh please, may no one in all of Japan face any trouble! May everyone be safe!" reads a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "May no harm come to all those in Japan." While Mount Shinmoedake has continued to emit smoke since its July 22 eruption, with plumes reportedly reaching 5,000 metres high, the image circulating online does show the volcano (archived link). The image does not correspond to livestream footage of the volcano on the YouTube channels of local broadcasters UMK TV Miyazaki or MBC viewed on July 21 (archived here and here). The Japan Times reported on July 9 that the country's meteorological agency had restricted access to the mountain, and warned that a "large amount of volcanic ash and lava flows will be expected if a full-scale magmatic eruption occurs" (archived link). Moreover, inconsistencies in the picture suggest it was created with the help of AI. Visual anomalies A closer analysis of the falsely shared image shows the doors on a white car in the foreground are positioned incorrectly on the vehicle and the people standing on the road appear to be missing limbs. Image Screenshot of the falsely shared image with visual inconsistencies magnified by AFP A subsequent keyword search led to a YouTube video titled "Japanese volcano erupts, spewing lava", which contains the falsely shared image, posted on July 4 (archived link). The video, which was shared on a channel that posts AI-generated content, contains additional visual inconsistencies. For example, a white car enters the bottom of the frame at the three-second mark and crashes into the vehicle in front before immediately disappearing. Image Screenshots showing the disappearing white car, magnified by AFP In reply to a comment on the video, the user also indicated it was created using AI. While generative AI technology is rapidly improving, visual inconsistencies persist and are the best way to identify fabricated content.
AFP
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- AFP
Posts share bogus tickets to Sri Lanka luxury hotel opening
"Sharuk brother, see you then. Let's meet on that day," reads a Sinhala-language shared July 4, 2025, referring to the immensely popular Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan (). The post includes an image of a ticket bearing Khan's photo alongside text that says, "City of Dreams. Shar Kuh Khan to attend the opening of South Asia's integrated resort. Colombo." The pass is apparently priced at 20,000 Sri Lankan rupees (67 US dollars). Image Screenshot of the false post taken July 7, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Similar claims surfaced on Facebook after the City of Dreams announced Khan will be a special guest at the opening of the luxury resort in the capital Colombo on August 2 (archived link). Local media organisation Fact Crescendo earlier fact-checked the circulating posts (archived link). The event is "strictly by invitation only", according to the hotel in a statement released July 4 in response to the false posts "No third parties are authorized to issue, distribute, or sell tickets," it said. "We strongly advise everyone to exercise caution and avoid engaging with unofficial sources." An inspection of the circulating image found Khan's name has been wrongly written as, "Shar Kuh Khan". Other important details including the date and venue of the event are also missing from the purported ticket. Image Screenshot of the image, with mistakes highlighted by AFP AFP has previously debunked posts sharing fake tickets here, here and here.
AFP
27-06-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Footage of fire in UK falsely linked to Iran-Israel war
"Iran launches counterattacks," reads in part a Sinhala-language Facebook post published on June 22, 2025. "The video below shows the situation in Tel Aviv". It goes on to give details of the attack, which it says came after the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, and shares a clip showing firefighters dousing flames that engulfed a building. Image Screenshot of the Facebook post taken on June 24, 2025, with a red X added by AFP US President Donald Trump said on June 21 that the strikes were a "very successful attack", before Iran's armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel in retaliation, including Ben Gurion airport, logistics bases and various layers of command and control centres (archived link). It also launched missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the biggest US military facility in the Middle East (archived link). Trump announced on June 24 that Iran and Israel had agreed to a "complete and total ceasefire" (). Iran's health ministry said Israeli strikes have killed at least 610 civilians during the 12-day war, while official figures from Israel said 28 people were killed in strikes across the country (archived link). The false claim also spread elsewhere on Facebook. But the clip is unrelated to the ongoing conflict. AFP has previously debunked a separate false claim that used the same video. A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found a YouTube video uploaded on April 29 with a caption that says, "Huge fire at disused Henley College building in Coventry, Oxfordshire, England" (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in false Facebook posts (L) and the video published on YouTube British news outlets BBC and The Sun also published visuals of the blaze that engulfed a disused former school building in Coventry (archived here and here) The West Midlands Fire Service issued a statement on the day, saying no injuries or casualties were reported in the fire (archived link). The West Midlands police announced a day later that two teenage boys were arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the fire (archived ). Google Street View imagery of the area shows that the red college building seen in the false clip is located in Coventry, England, not Israel (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the building in the false video (left) and the same structure on Google Street View highlighted in red by AFP (right) AFP has debunked other false claims linked to the Iran-Israel conflict here.
AFP
25-06-2025
- General
- AFP
Video of cabin crew boarding flight predates Air India disaster
"Did they know they were going on their final journey while they wave?" reads Sinhala-language text on a Facebook video shared on June 13, 2025. It shows an Air India flight attendant filming herself and cabin crew members as they wave to camera while walking through an air bridge. Additional superimposed English text on the video says "RIP" and "12 crew members". Image Screenshot of false Facebook post taken June 23, 2025 with a red X added by AFP The video was also shared in similar posts on Facebook and TikTok from Sri Lanka, as well as India and Malaysia. It circulated a day after an Air India flight bound for London crashed shortly after takeoff on June 12, ploughing into a residential area of India's Ahmedabad city (archived link). All but one of the 242 people on board were killed; as were at least 38 people on the ground (archived link). The video circulating online, however, does not show the Air India cabin crew on board that flight. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to the same clip posted on Instagram on June 9 by a user who regularly posts about being an Air India flight attendant. The clip, which was also posted on the user's Threads account, is captioned in Hindi, "Motivation before the ULH flight" while superimposed text reads "All the hardworking crew aboard the same flight" (archived link). ULH is the airport code for the airport in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia (). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (left) and the June 9 Instagram video (right) After her video resurfaced online, the user posted a request on June 14 for friends and family to report accounts that were falsely sharing it (archived link). "How will our families feel if they see that we are not alive. How can someone do this without information." reads part of her post. Image Screenshot of the user's Instagram post on June 14, 2025 Moreover, the user commented below the post: "God is very kind. I'm absolutely fine." AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to the Air India crash.
