The California-based digital security company says it's “very confident” to claim that footage of the paraglider virus, which it claims to have been sucked into by the Chinese storm, is not entirely authentic.
Peng Yujiang, 55, says he began an accidental flight while testing a newly purchased paraglider device at Qilian Mountains in northern China, with a camera mounted on the glider captured the entire ordeal.
Research by Reuters suggests that the first five seconds of Yujiang's film include “fake footage” that is likely to be produced by artificial intelligence, questioning the legitimacy of his story. Reuters then removed the video from the platform.
“This content is clearly labelled as third party content and has not been verified or approved by Reuters,” the statement said.
“When I noticed content that likely contained AI-generated elements in the Reuters Connect platform, I investigated and deleted it because the material was not compliant with the Partner Content Policy,” he continued.
Global News, the BBC, The Associated Press, and the New York Times, along with other outlets, shared a video of the doctor last week.
A survey conducted by GetReal Security, known as GetReal Security (the world's major authority on digital media authentication and verification), noted that there are some inconsistencies in Yujiang's video.
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Other inconsistencies given by Reuters are:
- It is a different video format than other videos in the compilation
- What appears to be a complete AI video has been uploaded to Facebook using Doubao AI watermark.
- The sound may have been extended from other videos on the compilation.
- The “Apollo 2” text (paraglider models visible in other videos) is not easy to read in the controlled video. The letters are scrambled. Even if some of the new models can deliver text, AI-generated content is a common weakness
- The legs of the pen look unnaturally long and distorted
- The green ground seen in the AI version does not match the satellite image of snowy terrain in Qilian Mountains
GPS data posted by Yujiang on the website Xcontest, a popular forum in the Paragliding community, suggests that the flight had occurred, but according to Jakub Havel, a Czech paraglider who helps the forum runs, it has been suggested that it was later removed. Other flight data shared by Yujiang remains on the site.
Paraglider experts raised questions about Yujiang's claim that his rise was accidental. It's an item not normally used during test flights, claiming it's unlikely for the “special heavy mittens” he wears in the video.
“These aren't something you normally wear or ready if you're just handling the wings on the ground to test,” Brad Harris, president of the Tasmania Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, told Reuters.
Given that some of the footage is probably generated by AI, it is not clear whether Yujiang actually used the special hand temperature equipment shown in the footage.
Godfrey Wenness, a former world record holder for paragliding distance, said the highly experienced paraglider was able to reverse the rise shown in Yujang's flight data.
Meanwhile, Australian flight instructor Daniel Wainwright told Reuters that Storm Clouds like Yujiang “were not just appearing on your head and hoovering into space. They shouldn't have built it over a period of time.”
In a report released on Wednesday, the Guns Air Sports Association said Yujang had broken the altitude record. The private group overseeing the state's air sports did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment and removed reports on Yujiang's flight from its WeChat account.
By Thursday, the association's website had been blocked.
Yujiang also suspended flights for six months. Members of his flight team were suspended for six months to release the video without permission.
-Using files from Reuters
&Copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
