In late September, Nepal experienced heavy rainfall, triggering a new series of landslides as the nation continues to recover from the devastating flash floods that struck on August 26. However, a video claiming to depict a landslide in a mountainous area has been identified as AI-generated. The video contains visual discrepancies that strongly indicate it is not authentic.
A post on X from September 29, 2026, in simplified Chinese, describes "frightening scenes of a landslide in the mountains of Nepal." This post shared an Arabic-language video featuring a large landslide pouring down a hillside, next to a white multi-story building, obliterating vehicles and trees in its path.
Similar claims spread across various social media platforms in multiple languages, including English, Hindi, Spanish, and French.
Heavy rains in late September 2026 resulted in floods and landslides across northern India and neighboring Nepal, leading to the deaths of at least 68 people. This followed a catastrophic flood in late August that claimed the lives of over 1,400 individuals and left countless others missing. The nation was again struck by new flooding and landslides, which resulted in at least 12 more fatalities.
Researchers have increasingly warned about the growing frequency of extreme weather incidents in South Asia, attributing these shifts to rising temperatures and climate change.
However, the video in question is confirmed to be a product of artificial intelligence. An analysis revealed numerous visual flaws typical of AI-generated footage. For instance, the structure of the building appears distorted and unclear, while the debris flow is unrealistic. Although a powerful mudslide can be seen sweeping away vehicles and vegetation, people on the left side of the frame are inexplicably static, failing to flee the scene. Additionally, several poles lining the road seem untouched by the powerful landslide.
The portrayal of high-rise buildings in the area is misleading, as such structures are uncommon in Nepal's mountainous regions, where developments typically consist of lower buildings due to steep topography and limited flat land.
An assessment using Hive Moderation, a tool designed to detect AI-generated content, determined that the video is 99.4 percent likely to be AI-generated or a deepfake. AFP has previously exposed various instances of misinformation created by artificial intelligence.
