Video of Person's Face Displayed on Chennai Traffic Signal Is Digitally Altered
The video dates back to 20 May 2022 and does not show a real incident of traffic police flagging a violation.
Fact-Check | The video is old and has been generated using CGI.
(Photo: Altered from The Quint)
A video, which shows a person's photo being displayed on a signboard for a traffic rule violation, is going viral on social media platforms as new initiative by Chennai police.
An archive of the post can be found here.
At the time of writing this report, the video had garnered more than 5,80,000 views.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)
What is the truth?: The video has been on the internet since 20 May 2022 and does not show a real incident of traffic police flagging a violation.
It is an animation video which has been created using VFX and CGI tools.
The video was originally shot at Marina Beach, Anna Salai, in Chennai. However, it was later edited using the said tools.
How did we find out?: A simple Google Lens search led us to the original video posted on an Instagram account named 'RiggedIndian.'
The video was uploaded on 20 May 2022.
It's caption said, "Red signal tracker in Chennai, if this comes then we can have a great traffic system. This is a VFX video not real
#chennaibeach #chennai #signal #trafficsignal #blendervfx."
Blender is a computer graphics tool which is used for creating animated clips and visual effects.
Creator's statement: The Quint reached out to Syed Abrar, the co-founder of 'Rigged Indian' and a CGI artist, who confirmed that the video is not a real one and has been animated.
He further said, "video was first posted on 20 May 2022 and then again reposted on 8 June (sic)."
Abrar told us that the person whose face is being displayed was him.
He added that the other person seen in the video is Abdul Razack, who is also associated with the account.
Conclusion: The video being shared with the viral claim is edited and does not show a real incident of Chennai traffic police flagging a rule violation.
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