AI-Generated of Naved Akram With Indian Defence’s Capt Kothari Viral as Real

AI-detection tool Hive Moderation concluded that the image was created using AI.

Fact-Check: This image is AI-generated and not real as claimed!

(Source: The Quint) 

An image showing Australia's Bondi Beach attacker, Naved Akram with the defence attaché of India to the Philippines, Captain Chandra Kant Kothari, sitting in a cafe-like setting, is being shared on social media.

Those sharing wrote, "Philippine OSINT community releases exclusive images of Bondi Beach shooter Naveed Akram with The Defense Attaché of India to the Philippines, Captain Kant Kothari in Manila." (sic.)

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: Facebook) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as this image is created using artificial intelligence (AI).

What we found: At first, we ran a Google reverse image search on the image to check if there had been any reporting on it. However, we did not find any credible sources to prove the claim.

• Team WebQoof, then, spotted certain anomalies that are often present in images created using AI.

• The cluttered background, text on the food box, and the bystander’s blurry hand were signs suggesting that the image might not be real.

These are the anomalies that were spotted in the image. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

• We then ran the image on the AI-detection tool Hive Moderation, which revealed that the image was 99 per cent 'likely' to be AI-generated content.

Here are the results by Hive Moderation.

(Source: Hive Moderation)

• India's Ministry of External Affairs' (MeA) fact-check unit also debunked this viral image and termed it "fake."

• They wrote, "Always stay alert against disinformation and fake posts on social media." (sic.)

We found no credible reports or links to prove a connection between Kothari and Akram.

Conclusion: An AI-generated image is being shared to falsely claim that Captain Kothari met the Bondi beach shooter in the Philippines.

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