Fact Check: Destruction in Indonesia after earthquake? No, video is AI-generated
After a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit northern Indonesia, a video is going viral claiming the show panic and destruction it created.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows the aftermath of a 7.4 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia.
Fact:False. The video is AI-generated.
Hyderabad: A 7.4 magnitude earthquake toppled buildings in parts of northern Indonesia, killing one person, in the early hours on April 2.
According to the Disaster Management Agency, strong shaking lasting 10 to 20 seconds was felt in Bitung in North Sulawesi province as well as in Ternate city in neighbouring North Maluku province.
In this context, a video showing surface rupture on a road while people are seen running in terror is going viral on social media. Some news outlets have also published this video, stating that it shows the situation in Indonesia after the earthquake.
The video was shared on X with the caption, “#BREAKING | NEWS Massive 7.8 Magnitude Earthquake has struck in Indonesia, causing major damage, and a tsunami warning was issued for the coastlines of Malaysia and the Philippines. Check out more videos from previous posts.” (Archive)
The online websites and news organisations sharing the viral X post can be seen here and here. (Archive 1 and Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video is generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Analysing the viral video, we found that the people are saying “Run, quickly run from here” in Hindi. Hindi is not a language that is widely spoken in Indonesia.
Towards the end of the video, what appears to be a silhouette of a man riding a two-wheeler crashes and as the camera gets closer to the place of the incident, it completely morphs into an unidentifiable object. This is a usual indication of an AI-generated video.
Analysis using AI detection tools
To check whether the video contains AI content, we used an AI detection tool, Sight Engine. The tool determined that the video is 83 per cent likely to be AI-generated.
Hive Moderation, another AI media detection tool, confirmed that the video is 98.2 per cent likely to be AI-generated.
The video is generated using AI. Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
