Pahalgam: Viral Photos Showing Victims Of Terror Attack Are AI-Generated

Claim

Photo claiming to show the aftermath of the terror attack in Baisaran, an off-road meadow in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, where terrorists opened fire at tourists, killing at least 26 people and injuring 10 others.

The archived version of the post can be seen here, which has clocked 257.7K views so far.

Fact

Newschecker noticed the overall glossy texture of the image and the lack of detail in the faces, which suggests that the photo may be AI-generated. Also, we did not find any such photograph in the extensive media coverage of the terror attack.

We ran the image past Hive Moderation, an AI-content detection tool, which said it was 98.9% likely to contain AI-generated content. The WasitAI tool, too, stated it was quite confident that the image, or significant part of it, was created by AI. Similarly, the IsitAI? tool stated it was highly confident (99%) that the image was AI-generated.

Also Read: Actor Vijay Snubbed By Student During Photo Session? Here’s The Truth Behind The Viral Video

UPDATE ON 23/04/2025: A couple of images claiming to show the site of the terror attack also went viral across social media platforms. The archived version of the posts can be seen here and here, one of which has clocked 26.1k views so far.

Image 2

Fact

We ran the image past Hive Moderation, an AI-content detection tool, which found it 96.2% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content. Another tool, SightEngine, said the image was 99% likely to be AI-generated.

Image 3

Fact

We ran the image past Hive Moderation, an AI-content detection tool, which found it 99.2% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content. SightEngine, too, said the image was 99% likely to be AI-generated.

Source
Hive Moderation tool
IsitAI? tool
WasitAI tool