Purported video of Aung San Suu Kyi meeting China's top diplomat is AI-generated
- Published on May 22, 2026 at 06:46
- 2 min read
- By AFP Thailand
After a local media report said China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to the country, a grainy video was shared in posts falsely claiming it was leaked CCTV footage of the pair's meeting. There has been no official confirmation of a meeting taking place, and the circulating video contains visual errors that indicate it was generated with AI.
"There have been reports that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Aung San Suu Kyi during his visit to Naypyidaw on April 25, 2026." says the Burmese-language caption of a Facebook video shared on May 12, 2026.
It adds there has been no official confirmation, but sources say he might have met the deposed leader "after she was moved to house arrest" and that a video of the meeting surfaced after these reports.
The supposed video of the meeting, which accumulated over 192,000 views, is attached to the post. It appears to be grainy, black-and-white CCTV footage of Suu Kyi and Wang at a table, engaged in conversation and looking over documents.
The same video was also shared in similar Facebook and TikTok posts after the Irrawaddy news website reported on May 3 that China's top diplomat met the 80-year-old Suu Kyi during his visit (archived link).
Citing two sources, the Irrawaddy said the "informal meeting" was also attended by Myanmar officials and both sides were reportedly prohibited from taking official notes or recordings.
Wang was in Myanmar as part of a three-country visit between April 22 and April 26 that also included Cambodia and Thailand (archived link). He said Beijing will "firmly support" Myanmar in safeguarding its national sovereignty and security, in a meeting with junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing.
Min Aung Hlaing was sworn in as president in April, continuing his rule in a civilian post five years after snatching power in a military coup that deposed Suu Kyi, ended a decade-long democracy movement and sparked a civil war.
Myanmar state media reported that Min Aung Hlaing had ordered Suu Kyi be moved to house arrest on April 30, days after Wang's visit (archived link).
The video circulating on social media, however, does not show a meeting between Wang and Suu Kyi.
There has been no official confirmation of a meeting from either the Chinese or Myanmar authorities (archived link).
AI-generated video
A keyword search led to a higher resolution version of the same video posted on TikTok on May 6 (archived link). The account that posted the video has regularly published false claims and clickbait framed to resemble videos from the BBC.
The 25-second TikTok clip contains several visual clues that indicate it is a fabrication, including distorted faces and a hand that appears to pass through the table.
A further analysis using Google's SynthID detector found digital watermarks indicating the use of Google's AI tools throughout the entire video (archived link).
AFP has previously debunked other false claims about Myanmar's former leader.
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