Fact Check: Viral Image of Charminar Submerged During 1908 Musi Flood is AI-Generated
On September 28, 1908, Hyderabad’s Musi River burst its banks, submerging everything in the city. This incident, called
Claim :
Viral image shows the submerged Charminar during the 1908 flood that devastated the city of HyderabadFact :
The image is an AI-generated image and does not show the original image of the devastating Musi flood of 1908
On September 28, 1908, Hyderabad’s Musi River burst its banks, submerging everything in the city. This incident, called the ‘Great Musi Flood’, is still remembered by everyone. The flood, locally known as Thughyani Sitambar, shattered the lives of the people living in Hyderabad, killing around 50,000 people as it washed away three bridges in the area. The devastating floods of 1908 prompted a new era of development in Hyderabad, leading to planned, phased urban development to mitigate the risk of future disasters.
Meanwhile, an image showing Hyderabad’s iconic monument, Charminar, flooded with water from the Musi River has gone viral. There are numerous people in the floodwater, some wading, others seemingly swimming and struggling. The water level is significant, reaching up to the lower levels of buildings and even submerging parts of smaller structures or shanties visible on the left side of the frame. In the background, a prominent architectural landmark of Hyderabad, Charminar, can be seen in the image.
This image has gone viral on social media platforms like Facebook with the claim that it shows a rare historic photograph depicting catastrophic floods that submerged parts of Hyderabad. The caption on the image reads: “#Devastating Musi River Floods 28 September 1908. A rare historical photograph showing the catastrophic floods that submerged parts of Hyderabad, claiming over 15,000 lives and reshaping the city’s future.”
Here is the archive link of the క్లెయిమ్.
Fact check:
The claim is False. The image in circulation is an AI-generated image.
When we searched the image using Google Reverse Image Search, we found a Facebook post sharing three different images showing Charminar submerged in floodwater with the same caption: “Devastating Musi River Floods – 28 September 1908”. The images can be identified as AI-generated images.
But when we searched for the original images of the 1908 Musi River flood, we found several social media posts that shared authentic images of the devastation, but we did not see the viral image in any of those posts.
Even the alamystock images did not feature the viral image or any similar image under the headline “Hyderabad flood 1908 stock photos and images.”
Upon observing the image in circulation, we found a watermark of Meta AI on the images shared by some social media users. The watermark shows that the image was generated using the Meta AI image generator.
When we analyzed the viral image using AI image detectors, we found that the image is AI-generated. ‘Was it AI’, an AI image detector, confirmed that the image is an AI-generated image. Here is the screenshot of the result.
Another AI detector, Undetectable AI.com, also confirmed that the image is AI-generated. Here is the screenshot of the result.
Therefore, the viral image showing Hyderabad’s iconic monument, Charminar, submerged in floodwater with people struggling to swim and other buildings also submerged, is an AI-generated image. The claim that it is a rare historical photograph of the Musi flood that occurred in 1908 is False.
