TLDR: A widely circulated video purporting to show lions roaming an under-construction building in Gujarat and interacting with sleeping workers has been definitively debunked as an AI-generated fake. The video, which caused panic and false claims of a real incident, exhibited numerous visual inconsistencies and was confirmed as artificial by AI detection tools and its original creator.
A video that recently went viral across social media platforms, depicting two lions wandering through an under-construction building in Gujarat and approaching sleeping construction workers, has been exposed as a sophisticated AI-generated fabrication. The clip, which was falsely claimed to be a real incident in Amreli, Gujarat, sparked widespread concern and calls for action regarding wildlife encroachment.
The video showed one lion sniffing a sleeping man, who then woke up and fled in panic. Those sharing the video often accompanied it with alarming captions, including claims of a lion climbing onto a rooftop in Amreli and residents expressing fear for their safety. Some posts even cited an alleged News18 report, stating, “Breaking news: Lion Jumps Onto Rooftop in Gujarat—’We’re Not Safe in Our Own Homes Anymore!’ Resident Screams.”
However, fact-checking investigations, including those by India Today Fact Check, revealed significant inconsistencies within the video itself. Observers noted visual glitches such as a man’s body appearing distorted (upper half on his back, lower half on his front) and the background inexplicably changing from an under-construction building to a vast open ground as the man ran. These anomalies strongly suggested the use of generative AI tools.
To confirm the artificial nature of the video, screenshots were analyzed using AI detection tools like “Was It AI,” Cantilux, and DeepFake-o-meter. All tools indicated a high probability that the video was artificially created. Furthermore, a watermark “@ataquesferoz” visible on the video led investigators to a TikTok account of the same name. This account was found to be the original source of the video and had explicitly labeled it as “AI-generated.” The account is known for sharing several other AI-generated videos.
Journalist Brijesh Patel from Gujarat also confirmed that no such incident had recently occurred in the state, stating, “No such incident has happened in Gujarat recently. If it had, we would have definitely reported it.” This incident is not isolated; a similar AI-generated video showing a lion sniffing a sleeping man on a street in Gujarat also went viral in June, which was also debunked as AI-generated.
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The widespread sharing of this fabricated content highlights the growing challenge of distinguishing real events from AI-generated media and the need for critical evaluation of viral content online.
