Latest news with #Burmese-language
AFP
24-06-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Old blast videos falsely depicted as US strikes on Iran
"The first video of the explosion in Iran after the US attack witnessed by a foreign affairs expert has emerged online," reads the Burmese-language caption to footage of a massive night-time explosion, shared on Facebook June 22, 2025. Image Screenshot of the false post taken June 24, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Another post from the Philippines shared a six-second clip of a massive fireball with the caption: "Breaking! USA bombs Iran's Fordow Nuclear site on Saturday!" Image Screenshot of the false post taken on June 23, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Similar posts surfaced in Israel and Malaysia hours after the United States launched strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with Iranian nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz (archived link). Iran and Israel have been trading deadly fire in their most intense confrontation in history since Israel carried out surprise attacks against Iran on June 13 (archived link). US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between the Middle East foes was in force on June 24, urging both sides to "not violate it" (archived link). However, both clips predate the war that have killed hundreds in Iran and two dozen in Israel. Ukraine drone strike A combined reverse image and keyword search on Google found higher quality versions of the first video in multiple news reports about a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian ammunition depot in Tver region in September 2024 (archived here and here). Image Screenshot comparison of the video from the false post (L) to the video published by CNN A Ukrainian drone attack on an arms depot in Russia's western Tver region on September 18, 2024 sparked a massive blaze that led to the evacuation of nearby residents, AFP reported at the time (archived link). Further keyword searches found an X post from an account specialising in geolocating military activities from the Russia-Ukraine war that analysed the clip (archived link). Using details from the analysis, AFP was able to confirm the video was filmed in Toropets by comparing features with Google Maps street imagery of the Russian town. Image Comparison of the video with visuals from Google Maps with similarities highlighted by AFP Syria bombardment Another reverse image search traced the second video to several news reports including Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera and NBC News on December 16, 2024 about Israeli strikes in Syria's coastal Tartus region, a week after the latter's president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown (archived here, here and here). Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (L) and the Al Jazeera report The area mentioned in the reports is nearly two kilometres away from the village of Bmalkah, in the hills above Tartus, where an AFP journalist saw roads filled with shattered glass and shreds of roller doors (archived here and here). The force of blasts had stripped the leaves of olive trees in groves surrounding the village, and smoke still rose from nearby hillsides. The clip has also been debunked by AFP in Arabic.
AFP
20-06-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Footage of parking lot fire in China falsely linked to Iran-Israel conflict
"Iran's fifth attack destroyed Israel's major military base," reads the Burmese-language post shared on June 14, 2025. It shares a video with more than 25,000 views and shows people running away from a massive fire near a square. Image Screenshot of the false post taken on June 18, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The posts emerged after Israel struck Iranian nuclear and military facilities with a barrage of missiles on June 13, killing several top officials and prompting a counter-attack by Iran (archived here and here). The arch rivals have since exchanged attacks in their historical confrontation, fuelling fears of a drawn-out war that could engulf the Middle East. The Israeli prime minister's office said on June 16 that at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds wounded by Iran's retaliatory strikes (archived link). Iran said a day earlier that the Israeli strikes had killed at least 224 people, including military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians. The video has been shared with the same claim in Burmese, English, Thai, and Hindi. But a combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found a video showing the same scene was published on the Chinese platform Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote in English, on June 12 (archived link). "Electric scooters on fire in Jiulongpo in Chongqing," the clip's caption in simplified Chinese reads. "Electrical safety in the summer heat is really important." Text on the video largely repeats the caption. Image Screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the clip as seen on RedNote Subsequent searches found that Chinese state outlet CGTN used the clip in a video report published on the same day about the fire (archived link). Images of skyscrapers in the area published by Chinese search engine Baidu also match those seen in the false clip (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the frame from CGTN video (L) to the image from Baidu Maps of the surround area with similarities highlighted by AFP The local government said in a press release that the fire was extinguished after 20 minutes with no casualties (archived link). AFP have previously debunked misinformation related to the Iran-Israel war here.
AFP
19-06-2025
- AFP
Old flight footage misrepresented as Air India disaster
"From Air India crash, just before the take off," reads Burmese-language sticker text on a Facebook video uploaded June 13, 2025. The video shows passengers using makeshift fans as a man "This is an Air India flight to Patna. Today is the 18th and the flight is at 4 o'clock. We have been on the flight for an hour, without AC. You can see how much we are sweating." Image Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken June 17, 2025 Air India flight 171 crashed into a building used by medical staff shortly after takeoff on June 12, killing at least 279 (archived link). One sole survivor miraculously survived the fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital (archived link). The inflight voice and data recorders been recovered as investigators work to determine what caused the tragic disaster (archived link). The video spread alongside similar claims on Facebook in English and Burmese, as well as on TikTok. However, the video predates the Ahmedabad crash by almost a . A reverse image search on Google using the video's keyframes found an identical clip published May 18 on the Facebook account of Rishi Mishra (archived link). Parts of the post's caption reads: "Coming to Patna from Delhi by 4 o'clock flight of Air India. The plane has been parked for an hour but the AC hasn't been operated despite being so much passenger on the plane." Image Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (L) and the video posted by Rishi Mishra , a former legislative member , confirmed with AFP that he filmed the video during a flight from Delhi to Patna on May 18. "Passengers were kept stranded for more than three hours as the air conditioner was not working inside the plane," he said June 16. Mihsra added that they "reached the destination around 10:30-11:00 in the evening." Air India flight 2521 was scheduled to depart from Delhi to Patna at 4 pm on May 18. But after hours of unsolved operational issues, passengers were transferred to a different aircraft (archived links here and here). video was filmed on an Airbus A320neo aircraft -- which has a smaller passenger cabin than the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed June 12 (archived links here and here). AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to the Air India crash here and here.
AFP
12-06-2025
- Politics
- AFP
AI-generated video of overflowing river falsely linked to Myanmar floods
"Myawaddy Road, Karen State. Several vehicles were damaged due to the landslide. June 1, 2025, 4:30 pm," reads a Burmese-language Facebook post on June 1, 2025. The video -- which has racked up more than 3.3 million views -- shows a river raging through a mountain pass highway with vehicles and people stranded along the muddied banks. The Myawaddy Road is a major trade route connecting Myanmar to neighbouring Thailand, which has often been closed off in the ongoing civil war -- sparked by a military coup that deposed Myanmar's civilian leadership in 2021 (archived links here and here). Image Screenshot of a false Facebook post taken on June 9, 2025 The video circulated after local media reported flooding in northern Myanmar along the Irrawaddy river basin following persistent heavy rainfall in early June (archived link). It also surfaced elsewhere on Facebook in Burmese posts as well as on TikTok. However, the video was fabricated using AI. A reverse image search on Google found an identical TikTok video published on May 28, 2025 with an "AI-generated" label (archived link). Checks of the same TikTok account showed it has repeatedly shared AI-generated videos of natural disasters (archived links here and here). Image Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (L) and the original TikTok video Joao Tourinho, who runs the TikTok account that posted the video, told AFP on June 10 that he created the video using the Hailuo AI tool, a text-to-video generation software. "I regret that people use content that is declared to be created by AI to spread false information," he said. "My YouTube channel and TikTok profile show that all of my creations are for those who enjoy apocalyptic entertainment created by AI." A close inspection of the clip also shows visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated videos, such as oddly-shaped vehicles, cars merging into one another and a damaged white car suddenly appearing in the scene. Image Visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP Although generative AI technology is improving rapidly, visual inconsistencies persist and are the best way to identify fabricated content. Other AFP debunks of AI-generated imagery can be found here.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Months-old footage shows flooding in Florida, not Thailand after heavy rain
"Flooding around (Victory Monument) in Thailand at 3:15pm today. Myanmar citizens beware," reads the Burmese-language caption of a Facebook video shared on May 27, 2025. Superimposed Burmese-language text on the video -- which shows partially submerged houses and buildings in an area inundated with water -- reads, "Flooding in Thailand. Those who are close to the sea, please be careful". The video circulated online days after Thai media reported that a combination of heavy rain and slow water drainage had flooded parts of Bangkok (archived here and here). The footage was also shared in similar Burmese posts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. But the clip is old and was not filmed in Bangkok. A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to an identical clip published on Instagram on October 9, 2024 (archived link). Its caption reads: "Fort Myers Beach, halfway down Estero island @ 5:30pm on Oct 9. Milton was about double the flooding from Helene for FMB." Category 3 storm Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast on October 9, 2024, pounding communities still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier. At least 16 people died as Milton sent tornadoes spinning across Florida and left millions of buildings without power (archived link). The video matches Google Street View imagery of Fort Myers Beach (archived link). AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to flooding in Thailand here.
