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When Indonesia’s Anak Krakatau volcano roared back to life in early September, it grounded flights across the region and even forced SriLankan Airlines to divert and suspend some of its Jakarta services. In the middle of that real disruption, a chillingly close-up video began racing across Facebook, TikTok, and X: a volcano erupting suddenly as terrified people scramble to flee a wall of lava. It was shared as genuine footage of the eruption and even picked up by mainstream news outlets. Here are the posts that carried it.
Social Media Posts
The video shows a volcano suddenly erupting, spewing lava.
Some mainstream media outlets also used this footage while reporting on Indonesia’s volcanic eruption.
Fact Check
The Video Shows Clear Signs of AI Generation
A closer look at the viral clip revealed features characteristic of AI-generated content. One of the panicked people fleeing the scene has a face rendered stark white, with limbs that appear to blend into the background. Other people in the crowd have feet that vanish while running, and their faces look visibly distorted.
The Terrain in the Video Does Not Match Anak Krakatau
Anak Krakatau is located in the Sunda Strait, between Sumatra and Java. A review of satellite imagery of the volcanic site confirms that the terrain shown in the viral video bears no resemblance to the actual surroundings of the volcano. As reported by PBS News, the nearest settlement to the Anak Krakatau volcanic island lies more than 16 kilometres away. Indonesian authorities have also warned residents and tourists to stay at least three kilometres from the active crater, which makes the close-up panicked crowd shown in the clip implausible.
Genuine Footage of the Eruption Looks Completely Different
Below is genuine footage of the Anak Krakatau eruption. Its setting and surroundings are entirely different from those shown in the viral video.
AI Detection Tools Confirm the Video Is Synthetic
Taking these visual inconsistencies into account, we ran the viral video through several AI-content detection tools, which confirmed that it had been generated using artificial intelligence.
Similar checks by India Today using Hive Moderation and isfake.ai, and by AFP using the University at Buffalo’s DeepFake-o-Meter, reached the same conclusion with high confidence. AFP also traced the clip back to a TikTok post from November 2025, well before the recent eruption, carrying a caption about “lava rain at sea during a boat trip.” Accordingly, it is evident that this viral video, circulated as genuine footage of Indonesia’s volcanic eruption, is in fact AI-generated.
Anak Krakatau’s Real Eruption and Its Impact
Indonesia’s Geological Agency confirmed that Anak Krakatau, located in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra, became active on the night of September 4, 2026. The eruption continued for nearly 25 hours, releasing massive clouds of ash and rock debris into the atmosphere and forcing the temporary closure of eight airports across the country, including Jakarta’s main Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. More than 2,900 flights were cancelled, disrupting over 340,000 passengers.
The disruption reached Sri Lanka too, prompting SriLankan Airlines to divert flights arriving from Australia and temporarily suspend its direct Colombo–Jakarta service.
By September 10, airports had reopened and flight operations had returned to normal. The volcano’s alert level remains at Level III, with a 3-kilometre exclusion zone still in effect around the crater. Authorities say there is no tsunami risk under current conditions. Residents of West Java and Lampung have been advised to wear face masks due to ashfall, and some local schools have temporarily shifted to online instruction. Additional details here, here, and here.
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Conclusion:
Our fact-check found that the video circulating on social media, claiming to show footage of Indonesia’s recent Anak Krakatau volcanic eruption, is AI-generated. Visual distortions in the footage, a terrain that does not match the actual volcanic site, and confirmation from multiple AI-detection tools all point to the same conclusion.
Title: Volcano Erupts on Camera: Is This Real Anak Krakatau Footage, or AI?
Fact Check By: B.P. Hansani
Result: Misleading
