Fact Check: Viral video claiming to show clouds on Mount Kailash is AI generated
Mount Kailash is the striking peak standing in the remote south-west corner of Tibet in the Himalayan Mountains. Rising at an
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash is the striking peak standing in the remote south-west corner of Tibet in the Himalayan Mountains. Rising at an elevation of 6638 m (21778 ft) it is one of the highest parts of the Himalayas and serves as a source of some of the longest rivers in Asia. In Hinduism, Mount Kailash is known to be the abode of Lord Shiva where he lives with his consort Parvati and other ganas. He resides on the peak in the state of meditation. The pilgrims do parikrama in the clockwise direction starting from the South face. It is believed that doing a one-time parikrama is equivalent to turning one round of the wheel of life. The mountain is the pillar of the world and the entire universe is operated from this place.
In an attempt to boost tourism, Uttarakhand has introduced a pilgrimage called "Mount Kailash Darshan from Indian Soil." This pilgrimage gives the devotees an opportunity to view Mount Kailash from Indian territory at the Old Lipulekh Peak in Pithoragarh district, without visiting Tibet. The pilgrimage is designed to offer a spiritual experience while staying within the borders of India. The first group of pilgrims embarked on this journey on October 2, 2024, successfully viewing Mount Kailash on October 3. The pilgrimage also includes visits to other sacred locations like Adi Kailash and Om Parvat, making it a deeply spiritual and enriching journey for the participants.
Meanwhile, a video showing a huge mountain covered by circling clouds, named as Lenticular clouds, on it is going viral with the claim that the video shows Mount Kailash. Several social media users especially X users posted this video with the caption in English “Mt. Kailash, the peak no one can climb. But which everyone’s spirit aspires to reach. The perfect way to define your core purpose.”
Some users shared the claim in Hindi language also. “#कैलाश_पर्वत वो शिखर जिस पर को
Fact Check:
The claim is False. The video is AI generated.
Firstly, let us understand how lenticular clouds are formed. Lenticular clouds are a rare type of cloud that can form over mountains or high hills. They are stationary and can resemble UFOs.
When we searched using the keyframes extracted from the video, we found a video published on an Instagram account named Kailash Energy on June 28, 2024, with the caption “Mount Kailash, the king of sacred mountains, who see it can make a wish. Feel the awe-inspiring majesty and serenity of Mount Kailash. Mount Kailash will offer a profound purification of the soul.” #puretibetan #kailashenergy #
We found a few comments on this post that this video is AI-generated. We contacted the admins of the Instagram page and asked them whether the video was AI-generated. We are waiting for their reply.
When we searched further for images or videos of Kailash being surrounded by lenticular clouds, we found an image posted on Flickr.
With coordination of Deepfakes Analysis Unit, when we analysed the image, we found it to be AI generated. According to the DAU analysis, Analysing files with no human faces offers a unique challenge since most of the video detectors are trained to trace visual indicators of A.I. manipulation in humans. The media file in circulation is a Gif, with no human faces. So by using A.I. image classifier from Hive AI and correlating the colour of the contours with the index on the right hand side, the file has a very high confidence score in "ai_generated" and "stablediffusion". The tool is giving the result that the media file is A.I.-generated, and most probably made with the help of Stable Diffusion.
Here is the image of the analysis.
Upon further research, we also found a fact check published by India Today, where when they contacted the admins of the Instagram page, they confirmed that the video was created using AI. They shot the photo of Mount Kailash and then edited it using Midjourney.
Therefore, the viral video is not real and has been generated using AI technology. The claim is False.