Edited video shared with false claim it shows 'cars being carried on boats' in Dubai

Published on April 29, 2024 at 07:45
3 min read
By Pasika KHERNAMNUOY, AFP Thailand

A video edited using visual effects has circulated with a false claim it showed people in the United Arab Emirates carrying their luxury cars in boats to protect them from flooded streets after the heaviest rains on record hit the Gulf state in April 2024. AFP found the video was first uploaded by a company that specialised in making videos with computer-generated imagery.

"This is how the millionaires in Dubai protect luxury cars from floods," read the captions of a Thai-language Facebook post published on April 19, 2024.

The post shared a six-second video which depicted luxury cars travelling on inflatable boats in a flooded street, with the words "g-rescue" and "emergency car boat" visible.

A screengrab of the false Facebook post.

The video was shared alongside similar false claims in various languages including Thai here and here, as well as Hiligaynon, traditional Chinese, Greek and English here and here.

The same video was also published on X and accumulated up to 7.4 million views.

While some users commented the video was edited or AI-generated, others believed it was genuine.

"Amazing! Where are the inflatables' drivers or are they in those cars?" one user wrote.

"The rich just aren't bothered," another comment read in Thai.

The false claim surfaced as the United Arab Emirates was struck by a massive storm in April 2024, which brought the country's heaviest rainfall in 75 years and halted air and ground traffic.

People were forced to abandon their vehicles on flooded highways and to seek refuge on higher ground for safety.

However, this video was digitally altered. AFP found no credible reports of luxury cars being carried by boats through flooded streets in Dubai.

Visual effects

Some of the false videos credited the clip to an account called "Vertex CGI". A keyword search revealed the account first shared the clip on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X.

The posts shared the same video and were captioned: "Dubai luxury anti-flood technologies. #dubai #uae #cars #bugatti #mercedes #lamborghini".

Although it is not directly addressed in the videos that they were digitally altered, Vertex CGI -- a Dubai-based media production studio -- stated on its LinkedIn profile that it "creates CGI videos" for commercial purposes (archived link).

From visual observation, the boats carrying the cars and flamingo-shaped floats have been digitally added to the scenes of cars wading through floodwaters.

Several visual errors can be observed -- including the missing license plates on the cars, the lack of ripples around the flamingo and the difference in texture between the cars present in the unedited video and those added in post-production.

Below is a screengrab of the video, with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP:

Screengrab of the video, with visual inconsistencies highlighted by AFP

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the original video (right):

Screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the original video (right).

Vertex CGI has also published other videos made with special effects on its social media accounts. It also explained their process of filming a scene and then adding computer-generated imagery (archived link).

AFP has debunked misinformation related to the April 2024 Dubai storm here.

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