Image of Myanmar army's helicopter on fire is AI-generated
- Published on June 30, 2026 at 12:27
- 2 min read
- By AFP Thailand
Anti-junta rebels damaged a military chopper in central Myanmar in June, but an image of a helicopter engulfed in flames does not show the attack. Footage of the incident published by Burmese media did not show extensive destruction as depicted in the circulating posts and the image was flagged as made with OpenAI tools.
"General Ye Win Oo's gift to Magway PDF," reads Burmese-language Facebook post shared on June 23, 2026.
The post includes an image of a military helicopter engulfed in flames, with a black pillar of smoke billowing from the blaze.
Ye Win Oo, a former spymaster, was installed as commander-in-chief by the junta in March, a position previously held by Min Aung Hlaing, whose 2021 coup ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi (archived here and here).
"People's Defence Forces" are units made up of former students, farmers and workers who have left their lives behind to take up arms and oppose the junta, engaging in battles in different parts of the country (archived here and here).
Burmese media organisation Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reported on June 23 that rebel forces in the central region of Magway released a video of military Mi-17 helicopter shot down by drone in Myaing township (archived link).
Mizzima wrote the attack took place amid a military junta offensive in the area, which began on June 15 (archived link).
Leading Myanmar ethnic rebel army Kachin Independence Army also claimed to have also previously targeted military choppers in 2025 and 2024, according to The Irrawaddy (archived link).
Similar posts shared the same claim elsewhere on Facebook.
But the circulating image was generated by AI.
Footage of the drone attacks published by local media shows a small blaze underneath the helicopter from the blast (archived here and here).
The fire in the circulating image does not match the extent of the blaze seen in visuals from news sources.
AFP uploaded the image to OpenAI's image verification website, which found an embedded SynthID watermark, confirming it was made with the tech giant's AI tools (archived link).
AFP previously debunked other misinformation related to the Myanmar unrest.
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