During the Onam 2023 festival in Kerala, a Twitter user shared a photo of a railway line decorated with beautiful flowers. The trains on the tracks were painted with floral patterns. "Kasargod-Trivandrum" is written on the bridge above the train. The post said: “This is a picture of a railway station in Kerala specially decorated for Onam. The flowers near the tracks are real and have been planted specially for the occasion. Onam is celebrated from 20 August to 2 September.”
India TV found that the viral image was created by artificial intelligence and does not look like the real station in Onam. A Google search led us to Facebook user Aneesh Chakkottil, who posted this viral photo on July 29, 2023. He said the photo shows a car going on the Onam Private Vande Bharat Express by Terry Vanderum of Kasaragod.
While commenting on the broadcast, he said that the picture was fabricated.
The viral image of a Kerala station decorated with flowers for Onam is not real. It is AI-generated.
The image was created by an Indian advertising agency called Copper & Black. The agency's creative director, Amit Singh, admitted that he created the image using an AI tool called Midjourney. He said that he wanted to create a "beautiful and inspiring" image to celebrate Onam.
The image went viral on social media, with many people believing that it was real. However, the Divisional Railway Manager of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, issued a clarification stating that the image was fake. He said that the train in the image was not from Kerala and that the station was not decorated with flowers.
The use of AI to create fake images is becoming increasingly common. It is important to be aware of these images and to be critical of the information that you see online.
Here are some tips for spotting fake images:
- Look for inconsistencies in the image. For example, are the shadows in the wrong place? Are the colors unrealistic?
- Check the source of the image. Is it from a reputable website or social media account?
- Do a reverse image search. This will help you to find out where the image has been used before.
- If you are unsure about the authenticity of an image, it is best to avoid sharing it.
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