Watch Desk posted an update
Images of a Pink Panther-costumed protester supposedly taking part in recent French demonstrations are AI-generated, Full Fact says. The pictures and videos have been shared as genuine, but the fact-check identifies watermarks and visual clues such as garbled text.
Why it mattersSome images also reuse older protest photographs: one traces back to Armenia in 2015, another to a water-cannon demonstration in Kenya in 2025, and another to Athens in 2010. It is a useful reminder that a convincing costume is not proof of a convincing event. Full Fact says it used Google’s SynthID detector alongside other checks, rather than relying on the detector alone.
Discuss: When viral images appear during protests, should platforms label them only after fact-checking, or remove them while their authenticity is still unclear?
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