Hyderabad: Tragedy struck on the evening of April 30, when a cruise boat of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism (MPT) Department ran into a storm on its way back to the shore and overturned in the Bargi dam reservoir on the Narmada River in Jabalpur.
The boat was carrying 39 tourists and two crew members.
In the tragic accident, nine people lost their lives. Rescuers found the bodies of a mother and a four-year-old child, with the mother clutching the child to her chest in a desperate attempt to save him. An image claiming to show this scene is now going viral on social media.
Sharing the image on Facebook, a user wrote, "Released 15 hours after a cruise ship sank in Jabalpur's Bargi Dam, this shocking photograph underscores the profound significance of a mother. While the mother and son may not have survived the ordeal, this image captures the very moment the tragedy unfolded. Even amidst such dire circumstances, the mother never let go of her son. My deepest salutations to such a mother." (Translated from Telugu) (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The image is AI generated.
Using keyword searches, we found a report published by NDTV on May 1 about the incident. The report also contained a video showing the rescue team bringing the bodies of the woman and the child towards the shore.
In this video, we can clearly see that the woman and the child are wearing grey-coloured clothes and an orange life jacket. Whereas, in the viral image, the woman is seen clutching the child, with both dressed in dark blue-coloured clothes and a red-coloured life jacket.
We also found another image shared in a report published by Hindustan Times. The faces of the mother and the child are blurred; however, we can clearly see that the colour of the clothes is different from the viral image.
We also observed a visual discrepancy in the image. The bangle on the woman's hand in the viral image appears to be digging into, or beginning from, the middle of her forearm. There are inconsistencies in the shadow of the bangle. This is a usual indication of AI-generated content.
There are also some social media posts showing the original image without the faces blurred. We compared the faces using those photos and confirmed that they are different individuals. Considering the sensitivity of the matter, we are not showing their faces in this story.
To confirm whether the image was created using Artificial Intelligence, we used Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool. The tool results determined that the image is 96.2 per cent likely to be AI generated.
Jabalpur Collector issues clarification
Sharing the viral image on X, Collector Jabalpur ) wrote, "Jabalpur -- This photo is AI-generated or from some other source. It has no connection with the Bargi cruise accident." (Translated from Hindi)
Therefore, it is clear that the viral image is AI generated. NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is misleading.