Does This Image Show Mother and Child Stuck in Mud in Wayanad? No, It’s AI

We passed the image through two AI detection tools, both of which showed that the image was indeed AI-generated.

Fact-Check | The image is AI-generated and is being shared with a false claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

An image which shows a woman and a child lying in mud is being shared on the internet to claim that it was taken after the recent landslide in Kerala's Wayanad.

What are users saying?: Claiming it to be from Wayanad, people have shared the image with a caption that said, "In the Wayanad disaster... Mother and child in the mud. Stuck horror scene!!! Even at the time of death. A mother who does not let her child be alone! There is no one equal to Amma in this world..."

You can view an archive of the post here.

(Source: X (formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)

The photo is being widely shared on Facebook and archives of such posts can be found here, here, and here.

What is the truth?: The image does not show a real visual as it has been generated using the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. It could be traced back to May of this year.

What we found about the image?: With the help of Google Lens, we performed a reverse image search and found the same visual uploaded on a Facebook handle called 'SA Market place'.

• It was shared on 14 May and its caption said, "Lord please intervene we want help other people (sic)."

• This made it clear the image was not from the recent landslide from Wayanad.

Is the image real?: A closer look would show that the visual had a smoothened-out texture, which is commonly spotted in AI-generated images.

• We then passed the image through two AI detection tools namely 'TrueMedia' and 'HiveModeration'. Both tools showed that the picture was indeed generated using the help of AI.

This tool showed substantial evidence of the image being generated using AI.

The tool showed over 99 percent probability of the image being an AI-generated one.

Conclusion: It is evident that the image has been generated using AI and is not real.

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