Video of Taiwanese flag seen at drone show in Shanghai is AI-generated
- Published on February 27, 2026 at 09:24
- 3 min read
- By Sammy HEUNG, AFP Hong Kong
Misinformation on ties between China and Taiwan has circulated on social media as tensions mount, with the latest being an AI-generated video that purports to show a drone show held in Shanghai that featured the self-ruling island's flag. An analysis shows the clip was made with AI and contains visual inconsistencies indicative of synthetic content.
"A drone show at the Bund in Shanghai unexpectedly features the Taiwan flag," reads a simplified Chinese X post shared on February 13, 2026.
The attached video -- which has been viewed over 171,000 times -- appears to show unmanned drones forming the Taiwanese flag with the Shanghai skyline in the background. People can be heard saying: "Wow it is so beautiful... Taiwan... Keep it up..."
China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring the self-governed island under its control.
Chinese military pressure on the island has escalated under President Xi Jinping. Beijing staged live-fire drills aimed at simulating a blockade of the self-ruled island in late 2025 after the United States approved arms sales to Taipei and comments from Japan's prime minister that the use of force against Taiwan could warrant a military response from Tokyo (archived link).
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te emphasised during an interview with AFP in February 2026 the need for Taiwan to dramatically ramp up its defences (archived link). He also cautioned if China were to take the democratic island, countries in the region would be Beijing's next targets.
AFP has debunked a host of misinformation on ties between both sides, including an AI-generated video that purportedly showed a delivery worker flying the Taiwanese flag in the Chinese capital.
The fabricated video has also spread on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. While some users doubted its authenticity, others thought it was genuine.
"These people are bold, they dare to put the Taiwan national flag up in the sky for a performance in Shanghai?!" one of them said.
Another person wrote: "It shows China is a free country!! It’s your freedom to express your opinion! Is that nice?"
However, the video is AI-generated.
A reverse image search on Google leads to a clip on YouTube showing the same scene shared on January 18 with a warning saying it contains altered or synthetic content (archived link).
As the camera zooms in on the flag, the tip of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower glitches and appears to curve. The Shanghai skyline in the false video also appears to be different from the real one seen in an AFP photo taken in 2025. The Museum of Art Pudong -- the rectangular building close to the shore -- is missing, while the shapes of some skyscrapers are either distorted or blurred.
An analysis of the video using the Hive Moderation AI video detection tool found it was "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content" (archived link).
Footage of an actual drone show in August 2022 featuring Taiwan's flag published by local media CTV shows the banner appears to be formed by disjoined dots, unlike in the false video where the space is filled with glowing light (archived link).
AFP has published a guide on identifying content made with AI.
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