Legal action over AI-generated fake Colombo flood videos

By Newswire Editorial

Colombo Mayor Vraie Cally Balthazaar has warned that legal action will be taken against individuals responsible for creating and circulating AI-generated fake videos depicting flooding in Colombo.

The Mayor told Newswire that several AI- generated videos are circulating in social media showing flooding inside the One Galle Face shopping mall in Colombo following heavy rainfall recently.

Meanwhile, fact-checking organisation Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka has confirmed that a viral video claiming to show flooding inside the One Galle Face shopping mall in Colombo was generated or manipulated using artificial intelligence.

The 14-second video, which circulated on Facebook and TikTok following heavy rainfall on November 6 and 11, showed floodwater near the mall’s entrance and people walking through water near an escalator and an Under Armour store.

According to Fact Crescendo, an examination of the footage revealed several signs of AI manipulation, including distorted facial features, unusual lettering and unnatural water movements.

An AI image detection tool indicated a 99% probability that a frame from the first scene was AI-generated, while Google’s SynthID Detector identified evidence of AI-generated or edited content in the second scene and audio.

Fact Crescendo also contacted staff at several stores within One Galle Face, who confirmed that floodwater had not entered or accumulated inside the shopping complex.

Although some water had been reported in the parking area, staff said the situation was not as severe as depicted in the viral footage.

The fact-checking organisation concluded that the claim of One Galle Face Mall being flooded was false, despite genuine flooding being reported on several roads in Colombo, including areas surrounding Galle Face.

Colombo experienced severe flooding following heavy rainfall on November 6, when 129 mm of rain was recorded within a few hours, while further rainfall on November 11 caused flooding and traffic disruptions across several parts of the city. (Newswire)