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Claim: A viral social media video showed Asian instant noodle manufacturers supposedly using a food dehydrator to remove moisture from wall geckos.
Verdict: FALSE. Analyses of the viral video revealed that it was generated using artificial intelligence (AI). No Asian instant noodle manufacturer uses wall geckos to produce noodles.
Full Text
A verified X user, Seth Sunday Tuka (@SethTuka), shared a video (archived here) of a factory operation showing some machines grinding wall geckos to make instant noodles. In the caption, which he described as a ‘public service announcement,’ he said, “There’s nothing nutritional about noodles. Avoid it at all costs.”
The video has gained over 349,400 views, 1,200 reactions and 1,100 bookmarks since it was posted on Sept. 15, 2026. As of Sept. 18, 2026, 779 users had reshared the video, and it had gained 459 comments.
Another X user gained over 958,800 views, 909 reshares, and 323 comments, less than 24 hours after posting the video on Sept. 18, 2026. Over 2,200 users reacted to the claim, while over 1,300 bookmarked it.
On Facebook, the claim gained different levels of virality, as found here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Chukwudi Ozioko, an X user, warned the poster to stop giving people wrong information. He said, “At least in our generation there is internet, and there is AI. There are many other sources of information.”
Another X user, Steph @steph_anie_18, said, “You must really think we are all dumb on this app that you can use an AI-generated video to fool us.”
However, we found some X users who believed the claim. Big Dee (@aaeei_112) wrote, “I bet I’ll never eat noodles again.”
Paul Chacha (@paulchacha94) said, “That’s why I don’t like Indomie.”
Amid recent complaints about the safety of consuming instant noodles in Nigeria, the video’s virality prompted DUBAWA to fact-check the claim.
Verification
Through a manual review, DUBAWA observed several traits indicating the viral video was generated using artificial intelligence (AI). For instance, the uniformity of the wall geckos’ skin texture, the impossibly large quantity of reptiles gathered at the factory, and the unrealistic shifting factory mechanics are among other indicators suggesting the video’s ingenuity.
To validate our observation, we subjected the video to AI detection tools after extracting its keyframes using InVid WeVerify.
Hive AI, an AI-powered deepfake detection tool, reported that the video, which lasted for one minute 40 seconds, is 99.8 per cent AI-generated.
Another AI detection tool, IsFakeAI, evaluated the video as having a 92 per cent probability of being AI-generated.
The tool also estimated the audio’s probability of being AI-generated at 98.2 per cent.
No Asian manufacturing company uses wall geckos to produce instant noodles. Wheat flour is the main ingredient, providing gluten that helps with chewiness and texture. Other vital ingredients include water, salt, alkaline water, palm oil, and additives. Meanwhile, its seasoning contains salt and sugar, flavour enhancers, spices, and powder.
Conclusion
No Asian factory uses wall geckos to produce instant noodles. Using available AI-detection tools to analyse the video, DUBAWA discovered that the video is AI-generated. Therefore, the claim is false.