Nepal disaster: fake and AI images flood social media as deaths mount

As deadly floods hit the Nepal-China border, social media is being flooded with fake and misleading footage. In Truth or Fake, Vedika Bahl goes through viral videos falsely linked to the disaster, including AI-generated content and old recycled footage from India, Chile and Alaska. Some posts have racked up millions of views online, exploiting the tragedy to drive engagement for easy clicks or further perpetuate conspiracy theories. One widely shared video gained over 7 million views, appearing to show a torrent of floodwater bursting its banks, sweeping away vehicles and pedestrians. Users sharing it as evidence of the devastation in Nepal, except that the video is AI-generated. It contains a SynthID digital watermark indicating that it was created using Google’s AI tools. Tools developed by major technology companies, including Google and Meta, can help identify digital watermarks and signs of AI-generated imagery, providing an increasingly important tool for verifying viral content during breaking news events. Our fact-check found that several viral posts are either AI-generated, recycled from older disasters or filmed in other countries. The false content is adding to the confu...