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Claim: An X user posted an image of a young boy standing beside a car he purportedly crafted using Bamboo sticks/skewers.
Verdict: False! Multiple AI detection tools showed that the image was generated using artificial intelligence.
Full Text
Artificial Intelligence has incredible advantages for human existence, such as eliminating human errors and improving healthcare, education, and transportation.
With artificial intelligence’s upward trend and contribution to human society, it is essential to be conversant with the intricacies of this technological advancement.
Recently, an X user, @whatsappblog9ja, shared a picture of a young boy standing beside a small car that appeared to have been woven together using bamboo sticks/skewers.
The young boy was seen standing in a setting native to Africa, surrounded by leaves and trees. He also looked distinctly African.
The caption on the image reads, “This talented kid did it himself. He’s waiting for your feedback.”
Several comments praised the young boy “for a job well done,” such as @reisbabatunde09, who said, “Keep it up,” and @IyajiMaryam, who commented, “Wow.”
DUBAWA observed that some Facebook accounts had earlier shared the image, as seen here, here, here, and here.
Africa is said to have the highest youth population, with 70% of Sub-Saharan Africans under 30. Since youth is often associated with talent and creativity, it’s widely believed that the continent holds immense potential. However, opportunities to showcase these talents remain scarce.
As a result, in recent years, it has become common to see blogs and social media accounts promoting young Africans who create models of aeroplanes, cars, and motorcycles using locally sourced materials or scraps. The creators of these inventions have been widely praised for their ingenuity.
However, with the surge of artificial intelligence, we have observed some users creating images that depict these inventions to mislead and confuse social media audiences.
This prompted DUBAWA to verify this.
Verification
Using a simple reverse image search, DUBAWA found the image had been reshared several times on social media platforms with the same narrative, particularly around March 2024.
The photo was shared on LinkedIn, as seen here.
An analysis of the image using Hive Moderation revealed that it was likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content, with a strong indication of AI involvement in its creation. It gave a 98a.1% probability that the image was AI-generated.
On the other hand, Sightengine gave a 74% probability but noted that the image had likely been artificially created using Midjourney, a generative AI platform. It also could not find any form of manipulation on the image.
Journalists and fact-checkers have had to deal with AI-generated images and videos as such creations are constantly shared on social media platforms.
Recently, DUBAWA fact-checked a viral image, which was said to be a new robot purportedly created by Elon Musk to assist women in carrying pregnancies. Our analysis showed the image was AI-generated and not real.
With the rapid increase in AI image generators, it is important to highlight what to look for when dealing with AI-generated images.
How to identify AI images
AI detector tools: AI image detection tools are readily available and have been tested for their accuracy or otherwise. These tools include Hive Moderation, Sightengine, AI or Not, and Illuminarty.ai. Users who have difficulty using these tools to verify images can also inquire on the DUBAWA Chatbot, an electronic mobile application that helps people fact-check viral claims using WhatsApp.
Watermarks: Some AI image generators carry watermarks, conveying additional information as to the source of the image, such as the five coloured squares at the bottom of a DALL-E-generated image. However, sophisticated tools are used to erase these watermarks, thus making this method unreliable.
Reverse image search: This is a simple technique usually used to trace an image to the first time it was shared online or in the digital world. The reverse image search identifies other articles that point to the status of the image, whether manipulated, real, or generated with AI.
Conclusion
The image circulating online that a young boy crafted a car using Bamboo sticks/skewers was generated by AI.
