Amid the ongoing wildfires in California, numerous AI-generated and old videos of fire incidents are circulating widely on social media. One such video, lasting 12 seconds, shows a city consumed by flames with buildings burning fiercely and helicopters involved in firefighting efforts. The video is shared and linked to the California.
Sharing the video, Sadaf Afreen, wrote, “What is happening in America is terrible! The fire is increasing!” (Archived link)
अमेरिका में जो हो रहा है वो बहुत ही भयानक है!
— Sadaf Afreen صدف (@s_afreen7) January 13, 2025
आग बढ़ते ही जा रहा है! pic.twitter.com/2PdybVT6rx
Kavish Aziz stated, “If the US had developed equipment to protect its own people instead of funding Israel for incendiary weapons, this incident could have been controlled.” (Archived link)
अमरीका ने इस्राइल को आग लगाने वाले हथियार के लिए फंड करने के बजाय अपनी अवाम की सुरक्षा के उपकरण तैयार किये होते तो इस हादसे पर नियंत्रण पा चुके होते।
— Kavish Aziz (@azizkavish) January 13, 2025
pic.twitter.com/SGCeWJtkfb
Monika Singh claimed, “The fire in Los Angeles is very dangerous and it is not taking the name of extinguishing. Those countries which call themselves super powers must have understood this. That there is a creator of this world, who can destroy anyone, whenever he wants, wherever he wants!” (Archived link)
लॉस एंजिल्स में लगी आग बहुत खतरनाक है जो बुझने का नाम नहीं ले रही है 🥹👇
— Dr Monika Singh (@Dr_MonikaSingh_) January 13, 2025
अपने आप को सुपर पावर देश कहने वाले को यह बात समझ में आ गई होगी,
की कोई दुनिया को बनाने वाला भी है, जो जब चाहे, जहां चाहे, जिसे चाहे खत्म कर सकता है ! pic.twitter.com/8ypLq6JfQE
Also Read: Video of Woman Converting to Islam Unrelated to California Wildfire
Fact Check
In our fact-check research, we identified irregularities in a viral video that claimed to show a city burning in fire. Notably, the movement of cars on the streets appeared unnatural, with vehicles colliding and disappearing. These anomalies suggest that the video was likely created or manipulated using AI.
In the next step, we extracted keyframes of the video and analyzed the image using AI detection tool like Hugging Face. After analyzing the image using Hugging Face, it was found that there is an 84.3% probability that the video is artificial or generated using AI.
In the next 5 seconds of the viral clip showing helicopters used in firefighting operations, we extracted keyframes from the video and ran a reverse image search. It was found that the first clip of the helicopter extinguishing the fire was shared by the Instagram handle @explorefurther.photography on September 12, 2024. The caption of the video states that the fire operation was carried out in Yucaipa, CA, a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States.
The second clip was also shared by the same handle on September 7, 2024.
| Claim | The video from the United States shows a city on fire, with helicopters participating in the firefighting efforts. |
| Claimed by | Sadaf Afreen, Kavish Aziz and Monika Singh |
| Fact Check | The video showing the city engulfed in flames was generated using AI. Another clip featuring helicopters used in firefighting operations are nearly four months old and were taken from the Instagram handle of Bradley Westwood, a photographer based in the United States. |
Also Read: Claim of American Muslims Praying for California Fire Containment is False
