Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim: Scores of people take to the streets and march together to express solidarity with Manipur.
Fact: The visual is not real and was generated using AI tech.
Reports of fresh violence emerged from various parts of Manipur over the past week when student protests turned violent amid fresh fighting between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki groups. The clashes between the two communities have been ongoing for over a year.
Amidst the ongoing unrest, a video is circulating online, claiming to show scores of people taking to the streets in solidarity with Manipur.
Sharing the video, one social media user wrote, “The situation in Manipur has significantly worsened, with no coverage from Indỉạn🇮🇳 media. Frustration is mounting, as thousands of people have taken to the streets demanding frẹẹdom from Indỉạ”.
Other users also shared the same video on YouTube with similar claims, and can be seen here, here and here.
Fact Check/ Verification
A reverse image search on a keyframe from the visual led us to a post from February 1, 2024, by an Instagram user named Manab Jyoti Gogoi. The caption read, “MANIPUR WANTS PEACE.” However, Gogoi clearly states in his caption that the images in the visual were created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
We then analysed the visual using an AI-generated media detection tool called truemedia.org. The results indicated that AI-generated audio was present, and there were signs of potential AI manipulation of faces as well.
We additionally checked the visual using Hive Moderation, which determined that it was 99.9% generated by AI.
Conclusion
Thus, we find that the video, claiming to show a large number of people taking to the streets to express solidarity with Manipur, is AI generated.
Result: False
Sources
Instagram post by Manab Jyoti Gogoi, Dated February 1, 2024
truemedia.org Tool
Hive Moderation Tool
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Authors
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
