AI video used to falsely claim police beat photojournalist
Dhaka, May 5, 2016 (BSS) – FactWatch has identified an attempt to create chaos by disseminating an AI-generated video falsely claiming that police beat up a photojournalist.
According to FactWatch, the AI-generated video was detected as misleading.
FactWatch’s research team reported that a video was recently shared on Facebook of a person in a police uniform punching another person lying on the street.
The caption says a journalist was beaten by police for taking photos of clashes between students. However, an investigation by FactWatch revealed that the video was created using artificial intelligence (AI).
Upon review, we observed some unrealistic movements between the people in the video.
The face of the person being beaten looks abnormal, and the movements of the two women running in the background are unrealistic. Such discrepancies are common in AI-generated videos.
Additionally, the video was analyzed using an AI detection tool called Deepfake-o-Meter, which showed that the video was likely generated by AI.
The FactWatch team also conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the video and found a report published by Daily Campus on February 12, 2023, titled “Police beat up journalist who took photos of student clashes.” The still images used in that report match the location and clothing seen in the video discussed.
FactWatch concluded that the video was created using that image.
Furthermore, there are no recent news media reports of police beating photojournalists. Therefore, FactWatch has classified the post containing this video as distorted and misleading.
The fact-checking agency noted that since the 2024 mass riots, the spread of misinformation about Bangladesh has increased through various media outlets, social media accounts and certain Facebook pages.
These false narratives specifically target the former caretaker government, groups involved in the 2024 movement, and the BNP after it came to power.
FactWatch is committed to preventing the spread of rumors and misinformation in our country. The organization is an independent fact-checking organization affiliated with Bangladesh University of Liberal Arts and operated by the Center for Critical and Qualitative Studies (CQS).
