Fact Check: Video claiming fire incident happened at Mumbai Airport was AI-generated; details inside
A video showing thick smoke billowing from inside an airport was recently shared on social media with the claim that it was from Mumbai Airport
New Delhi: A video showing thick smoke billowing from inside an airport was recently shared on social media with the claim that it was from Mumbai Airport, where a fire erupted on March 18, killing at least 1,300 people and causing property damage worth Rs 47,000 crores. The video depicted a large plume of smoke continuously rising from the tarmac.
However, the PTI Fact Check Desk investigated and found that the video was AI-generated, and the claim associated with it was false. Social media users had shared the AI-generated video along with the misleading claim.
Claim
An Instagram user with the handle 'life_is_very_important001' shared a video on March 18, claiming it showed a massive fire erupting at Mumbai Airport, which killed 1,300 people and caused property damage worth Rs 47,000 crores.
Here is the link and archive link to the post, along with a screenshot.
Investigation
The Desk ran the viral video through the InVid tool and extracted multiple keyframes. Upon running one of the keyframes through Google Lens, the Desk found that multiple users had shared the same video with similar claims.
Two such posts can be found here and here, with their archived versions available here and here.
In the next part of the investigation, the Desk conducted a customised keyword search on Google but could not find any authentic reports substantiating the viral claim that the fire erupted at Mumbai airport. If such an incident had actually occurred, it would have been widely covered by news outlets.
Next, as part of the investigation, the Desk closely examined the video and observed several inconsistencies that indicated it was not real footage. The flames and smoke in the video had an unnatural appearance, unlike those seen in actual fires. Instead, the visuals appeared overly smooth and uniform, resembling computer-generated effects.
Below is a screenshot highlighting the points.
Taking cues from the above findings, the Desk ran the keyframes of the video generated above through 'Wasitai,' an AI detection tool, which confidently stated that a significant part of it was AI-generated.
Below is a screenshot highlighting the result.
Subsequently, the Desk concluded that the video showing a fire at Mumbai Airport was AI-generated.
CLAIM
A massive fire erupted at Mumbai Airport on March 18, killing at least 1,300 people. The incident led to property damage worth Rs 47,000 crores.
FACT
The video was AI-generated.
CONCLUSION
Multiple social media users recently shared a video claiming it showed a massive fire erupting at Mumbai Airport on March 18, killing at least 1,300 people and causing property damage worth Rs 47,000 crores. However, the Desk's investigation found that the video was AI-generated and that no such incident had occurred. An AI-generated video was shared on social media as real with a false claim.
(This article was first written by PTI, and republished by Deccan Chronicle as part of the Shakti Collective Fact Check initiative)
