Large Fish Allegedly Found in Wennappuwa, Sri Lanka? Find out the truth…

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People have a natural affinity for animals, but this can sometimes lead to the spread of misleading images online. With the advent of new technologies, it has become easier to create and share pictures of animals that appear real but are actually digitally manipulated or entirely fabricated. These false images can deceive people into believing they are genuine creatures, contributing to misinformation.

Social Media Posts 

An image circulating on social media claims that a large fish, the biggest ever found in Sri Lanka, was discovered in the Wennappuwa area.

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We also received the image via our tipline with a request to check its authenticity.

While many instantly noticed the image was a digital creation, some users questioned it. These claims went viral in English as well.

Image Analysis:

Various AI detection tools were employed to analyse the image circulating on social media. The results indicated a high likelihood that the image is artificially generated.

Upon closer inspection, several anomalies and inconsistencies in the image also suggest that it has been digitally altered or created.

We also noticed that many responsible users who had identified the image as AI-generated shared the content with relevant hashtags such as #AI.

Origins of the AI-Generated Image:

While it’s evident that the image is AI-generated, we checked for its origins. We noticed that Wennappuwa in Sri Lanka was not the first instance of misleading attribution of this creation.

The AI-generated image went viral in Cebuano, an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines. Many users shared the image, claiming it was an incident from Cebu City, in central Philippines, as seen by the viral posts here. Another instance of the same image virally being attributed to Nigeria can be seen here.

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Conclusion:

The claim that the biggest ever found in Sri Lanka was discovered in Wennappuwa is false. The image circulating on social media is a generative image created using artificial intelligence.  Verifying such information through reliable sources is essential to avoiding spreading unverified content.