Claim
Demonstrators dressed up as popular comic book characters Pikachu, Batman, Joker and Spider-Man, during the mass protests in Turkey. Nationwide demonstrations have erupted since March 19 after authorities jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on corruption charges.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker learnt that amid the various visuals of the mass protests, a video of a protester in an inflatable Pikachu costume fleeing from the police during the crackdown has gone viral on social media, evoking reactions of amusement.
However, we did not find the viral image featured in the extensive media coverage of the protest, nor were there mentions of demonstrators dressed up as Batman, Spider-Man or as the Joker. Also, the grainy, cinematic style of the image, along with the overly glossy texture raised doubts on it being AI-generated.
We ran the image past Hive Moderation, an AI-image detection tool, which found it 98.9% likely to be AI-generated. Similarly, the WasitAI tool stated that the image, or significant part of it, was created by AI.
A further search led us to the photo posted on Instagram on March 27, 2025, by a computer and AI engineer, Eren Fazlıoğlu, whose account states that all images and content are generated by AI. He also replied to his post, sharing the photo, on X, dated March 27, 2025, where he clarified, “…The original footage, which was covered by the media in Turkey, only showed Pikachu running. This version is AI-generated and includes other characters for comedic effect.”
Sources
Hive Moderation tool
WasitAI tool
X post, Eren Fazlıoğlu, March 27, 2025