AI video of major Indonesia quake misleads online
- Published on April 12, 2026 at 09:57
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
After a powerful 7.4-magnitude quake struck off the coast of eastern Indonesia on April 2, 2026, footage surfaced in India in social media posts that falsely claimed it captured a moment of extreme panic among affected residents. The video is AI-generated, and an analysis found mistakes that indicate it is inauthentic.
"A 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Indonesia, you can see the visuals, the road has split into two parts," reads a Hindi-language X post shared on the day of the tremor using the quake's size indicated in initial reports (archived link).
In the attached video, people are seen panicking as cracks appear on the road.
The early-morning tremor in the Molucca Sea between the Sulawesi and Maluku island groups triggered waves up to 75 centimetres (2.5 feet) high in places and prompted a tsunami warning that was subsequently lifted (archived link).
One person was killed when a building collapsed in Manado, the region's search and rescue chief George Leo Mercy Randang told AFP.
Indonesia and neighbouring countries experience frequent earthquakes due to their location in the Pacific "Ring of Fire" -- an arc of intense seismic activity where tectonic plates collide.
A 9.1-magnitude quake struck the westernmost Aceh province in 2004, causing a tsunami that hit coastlines around the Indian Ocean and killed 220,000 people.
The video was also falsely presented as genuine footage from Indonesia in posts on X, Facebook and Instagram.
Comments indicate many social media users believed it was genuine, with one saying: "Many countries are at war and earthquakes are happening, it feels like the end of the world is near."
Another user, referring to the people shown in the clip who are apparently speaking Hindi, wrote: "Many people from India live in Indonesia, which is why they are speaking Hindi."
Fabricated footage
An analysis of the video found several visual errors that are hallmarks of AI-generated content.
The hands of the people appear distorted, with fingers that are not clearly identifiable or properly formed.
Moreover, despite the apparent widespread panic, some people in the video could be seen casually walking over cracks in the road.
An analysis using the Hive Moderation AI detection tool found the video was "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content" (archived link).
AFP was not able to track the source of the clip.
A reverse image search of keyframes found one of the earliest versions was shared on X on April 2. AFP reached out to the page but a response was not forthcoming.
More of AFP's reporting on AI-powered misinformation circulating after disasters can be found here.
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