AI-generated image falsely linked to poll violence in Pakistan-administered Kashmir

"Alas, Democracy in Pakistan! A heap of bullets fired by state forces at Kashmiri protesters in Rawalakot, Kashmir, who were peacefully struggling for their rights," says an Urdu-language Facebook post shared on July 28. 

The post includes an image of a mound of bullet casings with men in civilian clothing standing around it. 

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Screenshot of the false post captured on August 10, with a red X and AI label added by AFP

Protesters and security personnel engaged in deadly clashes in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as the sensitive Himalayan region went to the polls, an official said on July 28 (archived link).

The fresh unrest began on July 27, the day voting commenced in parts of the region, with the clashes mostly taking place around the city of Rawalakot, the epicentre of weeks of demonstrations. 

A spokesperson for the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) protest movement said around 20 of its supporters had been killed during the clashes, a number that could not be confirmed by the authorities, while the city's top civilian official Sardar Waheed told AFP one security force personnel died, with three others wounded.

The JAAC has been demanding that 12 seats in the local legislature reserved for those who left what is now the India-administered portion of Kashmir be abolished.

JAAC supporters, who have called on residents to boycott the vote, say the seats are used by major Pakistani political parties to tip the composition of the local parliament in their favour with those who mostly reside outside the region.

The same image was shared on the official X account of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party as well as on Facebook by Qasim Khan Suri, former deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan. 

Social media users from India also shared the image with one X post claiming, "Protestors display thousands of bullet casings, which were fired by Pakistan forces in just the last two days." 

But AFP cannot find a credible source that has published the image. It also shows signs it was fabricated.

Visual errors

An AFP analysis shows the image displays visual artefacts indicative of synthetic content. Several figures have distorted hands, arms and fingers, some faces appear unnaturally blurred, while their footwear blends into the floor and surrounding surfaces.

The purported bystanders' clothing also suggests they are not from Kashmir. An AFP stringer who has reported from the region said Kashmiris do not typically wear the scarves, hats or turbans seen in the image -- and the warm layers shown are inconsistent with typical July weather.

Some individuals appear to be positioned behind a wall while others appear level with it. The wall also shifts in height relative to the crowd. 

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Screenshot of the fabricated image with the visual errors highlighted and AI logo added by AFP

Detection software has also flagged the circulating image as AI-generated.

OpenAI's image verification tool found the visual contained an invisible SynthID watermark from Google, which the company uses to embed signals in AI-generated media created with its platforms. The watermarks are designed to withstand alterations such as cropping and filtering (archived here and here).

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Screenshot of the OpenAI image verification tool's detection results

AFP has debunked other misinformation about Pakistan-administered Kashmir.