Claim

Video showing wild animals running away from earthmovers razing trees in the Kancha Gachibowli forest, amid massive protests against the clearing of the 400-acre patch of green adjoining the University of Hyderabad.

 The archived version of the post can be seen here.

SC Intervenes

The Telangana government’s decision to auction off 400 acres of forested land in the heart of Hyderabad to build IT parks had triggered student protests, and got the Supreme Court involved. Ordering a stay on further activity, including tree-felling drives, at Kancha Gachibowli, the Supreme Court, which took suo motu cognisance of the clearing of the land parcel, had last week asked the state government to explain the “compelling urgency” behind the exercise.

Fact

Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which did not lead us to any credible news report carrying such a video. Also, we noticed the overly glossy texture and the lack of detail in the protesters, along with certain parts appearing blurry, all signs pointing towards AI-generated media.

We than the video past Hive Moderation, an AI-content detection tool, which said it was 99.8% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content

We also ran a screengrab past another tool, SightEngine, which stated it was 98% likely AI-generated. Similarly, the WasitAI tool stated that a screengrab, or significant part of it, was created by AI, further confirming that the video was not real.

UPDATE ON 10/04/2025: The Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU) of the Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA), of which Newschecker is a part, also analysed the clip using the WasitAI and IsitAI detectors, finding signs of generative elements in multiple frames.

Also Read: Narendra Modi To Retire From Politics On September 16? No, Viral ‘Times Now’ Graphic Is Fake

Source
Hive Moderation tool
SightEngine tool
WasitAI tool
DAU analysis