Fact Check: AI-Generated Image Shared as Real Plane Crash in Bangladesh

The image had markers of being AI-generated, like people merging into each other and the aircraft appeared unharmed.

Fact-Check: This image is generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

An image is being circulated on social media showing an aircraft crashed into a school building in an urban area.

What's the claim?: Users posting this image claim that it shows a military plane crash near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 21 July.

• The aircraft crashed into a school building.

The archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X)

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

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false as the image has been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

What we found: Initially, we found a few irregularities with the image such as the position of the plane and the fact that it remained largely undamaged.

• We also noticed that the markings on the plane were not identical to the Bangladesh Air Force F-7 jet markings, and some deformed human figures seem to be merged with each other.

Here are the markers on the image

(Source: Altered by The Quint)

• After that, we ran the image on some AI-detection websites like Hive Moderation, Sight Engine and Was It AI and found that this image is generated by AI.

The results by Sight Engine can be viewed here.

(Source: Sight Engine)

The results by Hive Moderation can be viewed here.

(Source: Hive Moderation)

The results by Was It AI can be viewed here.

(Source: Was It AI)

What about the crash?: The Bangladesh Air Force training aircraft crashed into a school and college campus in the Uttara area of Dhaka on 21 July, killing at least 30 people, including a young student.

• The Bangladesh Air Force said in a statement that the F-7 jet had suffered a mechanical fault.

• The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Md Taukir Islam tried to steer the aircraft to a less crowded area. The pilot was also killed in the crash.

• Here are some photos of the Bangladesh plane crash.

Conclusion: An AI-generated image showing an aircraft crash at a school is going viral online.

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