Fact Check: Bridge collapses in 10 seconds? Video is AI-generated

Hyderabad: A video is going viral on social media with the claim that it shows a real bridge spontaneously collapsing within 10 seconds, resulting in a loss of crores of rupees.

Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “How many crores of rupees were lost...?? A bridge built over the river collapsed in just 10 seconds...!!” (Archive)

Post sharing similar claims can be seen here. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video of the bridge collapsing contains AI-generated content.

Using reverse image search, we did not find the viral video associated with any news reports. We analysed the video closely and found that there are several discrepancies.

A crack on the ground present at the beginning of the video disappears after a few seconds. The waves produced by the collapsed bridge and the debris do not seem to affect the camera, even after such a devastating collapse.

The waves and the debris produced by the collapse look unnatural. As the bridge is collapsing, an electric pole seemingly splits into two. These are some things which are commonly indicative of AI-generated content.

Analysis using AI tools

To confirm the presence of artificial media, we used Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, which determined that the video is overall 65.8 per cent likely to contain AI-generated content.

We contacted Deepfake Analysis Unit (DAU), an initiative of the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), regarding the authenticity of the viral video.

DAU’s team analysed the video. The DetectAI tool determined that the point in the video where the bridge collapses and causes a wall of water to rise is where the presence of AI is most apparent.

Therefore, it is clear that the viral video of a bridge spontaneously collapsing is AI-generated. Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.