Viral video of Chinese paraglider likely includes faked AI footage
Peng Yujiang, 55, says he began an accidental flight while testing newly purchased paragliding equipment in the Qilian Mountains in northern China and that a camera mounted on his glider captured the entire ordeal, which supposedly saw him reach heights of 27,800 feet.
An investigation by Reuters suggests that the first five seconds of Yujiang's film contain 'fake footage,' likely generated by artificial intelligence, bringing the legitimacy of his story into question. Reuters has since removed the video from its platforms.
'This content is clearly labeled as third-party content and is not verified or endorsed by Reuters,' it said in a statement.
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'When we became aware of a piece of content that likely contained AI-generated elements on the Reuters Connect platform, we investigated and took it down because the material does not comply with our partner content policy,' it continued.
Global News, the BBC, The Associated Press and the New York Times — along with other outlets — shared the likely doctored video last week.
The investigation, undertaken by GetReal Security — a company that calls itself the world's leading authority on the authentication and verification of digital media — noted several inconsistencies in Yujiang's video, namely that his helmet is black at the start of the video and changes to white, and that his legs are in a protective cocoon at the start and dangling at the end.
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Other inconsistencies given by Reuters include:
It's in a video format that differs from the other videos in the compilation
What appears to be the full AI video was uploaded to Facebook with a Doubao AI watermark indicating their tool was used to create it
The sound may have been extended from the other videos in the compilation to make it appear coherent
The 'Apollo 2' text (the paraglider model visible in the other videos) is not legible in the manipulated one. The letters are scrambled, even if some of the newer models can sometimes deliver text, it's still a common weakness in AI-generated content
Peng's legs look unnaturally long and distorted
The green ground seen in the AI version does not match satellite imagery of the snowy terrain of the Qilian Mountains
While GPS data posted by Yujiang on the website XContest, a popular forum in the paragliding community, suggests the flight did occur, it was later deleted, according to Jakub Havel, a Czech paraglider who helps run the forum. Other flight data shared by Yujiang remains on the site.
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Paragliding experts have raised doubts over Yujiang's claim that his ascent was accidental, arguing that it is unlikely because of the 'specialized heavy mittens' he can be seen wearing in the video, an item not typically used during a test flight.
'These are not things you would normally wear or have ready if you were just ground-handling to test a wing,' Brad Harris, president of the Tasmanian Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, told Reuters.
Given that parts of the footage are probably AI-generated, it is not certain if Yujiang was actually using the specialized hand-warming equipment shown in the footage.
Godfrey Wenness, a former paragliding distance world record holder, said a highly experienced paraglider could have managed to reverse the ascent shown in Yujiang's flight data, and that Yujiang was either 'inexperienced' or continuing to climb on purpose.
Meanwhile, Daniel Wainwright, a flight instructor in Australia, told Reuters that storm clouds like the one Yujiang flew in 'don't just appear above your head and hoover you into space. They build over a period of time. He shouldn't have been flying.'
In a report published on Wednesday, the Gansu Aeronautical Sports Association said Yujiang had broken an altitude record. The private group that oversees air sports in the province did not respond to Reuters' request for comment and deleted its report on Yujiang's flight from its WeChat account.
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By Thursday, the association's website was blocked.
It also suspended Yujiang from flying for six months. A member of his flight team was suspended for six months for releasing the video without authorization.
— With files from Reuters
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