Viral video of Chinese paraglider likely includes faked AI footage – National

A digital security company based in California says that it is “quite confident” Viral images of a parapentre Who claims to have been sucked in a storm in China is not entirely authentic.

Peng Yujiang, 55, says that he started an accidental flight by testing paragliding equipment newly bought in the Qilian mountains in northern China and that a camera mounted on his glider captured the whole test, which supposed to reach heights of 27,800 feet.

A Reuters investigation suggests that the first five seconds of Yujiang film contain “false images”, probably generated by artificial intelligencequestion the legitimacy of its history. Reuters has since deleted the video from its platforms.

“This content is clearly labeled as third -party content and is not checked or approved by Reuters”, it said in a press release.

“When we became aware of content that probably contained elements generated by AI on the Reuters Connect platform, we have investigated and lowered it because the equipment does not respect our partner content policy,” he continued.

Global News, the BBC, the Associated Press and the New York Times – as well as other points of sale – shared the problematic video of last week.

The survey, undertaken by Safety Getreal – A company that calls itself the main global authority on authentication and verification of digital media – noted several inconsistencies in Yujiang’s video, namely that its helmet is black at the start of the video and changes in white, and that its legs are in a protective cocoon at the start and hanging at the end.

The other inconsistencies given by Reuters include:

• It is in a video format that differs from the other videos of the compilation
• What seems to be The complete AI video was downloaded on Facebook with a Doubao AI watermark indicating that their tool has been used to create it
• The sound may have been extended from the other videos of the compilation to make it appear coherent
• The text “Apollo 2” (the parapentre model visible in the other videos) is not readable in that manipulated. The letters are blurred, even if some of the new models can sometimes provide text, it is always a common weakness in the content generated by AI
• Peng’s legs look abnormally long and deformed
• The green terrain seen in the AI ​​version does not correspond to the satellite imagery of the snowy land of the Qilian mountains

While GPS data published by Yujiang on the website XContestA popular forum in the paragliding community suggests that the flight occurred, it was then deleted, according to Jakub Havel, a Czech parapentre that helps direct the forum. Other flight data shared by Yujiang remain on the site.

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Paragliding experts have raised doubts about Yujiang’s assertion that his ascent was accidental, arguing that it is unlikely due to the “heavy specialized mittens” that he can carry in the video, an article not generally used during a test flight.

“These are not things that you would normally wear or that you would have ready if you were only manipulation on the ground to test a wing,” Reuters Brad Harris, president of the Tasmanian Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association told Reuters.

Since the parts of the images are probably generated by AI, it is not certain that Yujiang really used the specialized hand -warming equipment indicated in the images.

Godfrey Wenness, a former world record holder of the paragliding distance, said that a very experienced parapentre could have succeeded in reversing the ascent shown in Yujiang flight data, and that Yujiang was either “inexperienced” or continuing to climb expressly.

Meanwhile, Daniel Wainwright, a flight instructor in Australia, told Reuters that storm clouds like that of Yujiang have stolen in “Do not just be satisfied with your head and to climb into space. They build over a period of time. It should not have fly.”

In a report published on Wednesday, the Gansu Aeronautical Sports Association said that Yujiang had broken an altitude record. The private group that oversees air sports in the province did not respond to Reuters’ comments and deleted its report on the flight of Yujiang from its WeChat account.

Thursday, the association’s website was blocked.

He also suspended Yujiang to fly for six months. A member of his flight team was suspended for six months for having published the video without authorization.

– with reuters files

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