AI-Generated Image Falsely Viral as Real Visuals of Uttarakhand Bus Accident

This image has been created using artificial intelligence and is not real, as claimed.

Fact-Check: This image is generated using AI and is not real. 

(Source: The Quint) 

An image showing a broken down bus in water, in a hilly terrain has gone viral on social media platforms.

• Those sharing have linked it to the bus accident in Uttarakhand on 26 June 2025, where at least two pilgrims died and ten others went missing.

• The bus fell into the Alaknanda river in Rudraprayag while it was headed towards Badrinath Dham, one of the four Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus.

• Media outlets such as NewsNine One, AsiaNet and News18 Assam also shared the viral image.

An archive of the post can be found here. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

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

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

What we found: At first, we noticed some irregularities with the image such as a blurred background with the mountainous range and trees looking unnatural.

• Additionally, the waves and colour of water along with the sticker on the back of the bus looks hazy and very smooth.

Here are the markers on the image. 

(Source: Altered by The Quint) 

• We, then, ran the image on AI-detection websites such as Hive Moderation and Was It AI and found that the image was created using AI.

Here are the results by Hive Moderation.

(Source: Hive Moderation) 

Here are the results by Was It AI.

(Source: Was It AI) 

• Here are some images of the bus accident in Rudraprayag.

Conclusion: An AI-generated image has gone viral to falsely claim that it shows the recent bus accident in Uttarakhand.

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