With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.
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A daring daytime heist of jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris on October 19 made international headlines.
During the heist, the thieves parked a truck with an extendable ladder under the museum’s Apollo Gallery, and used cutting equipment to get through a window and display cases to steal the jewellery.
A Facebook reel featuring footage purportedly of the theft was posted online by a Hong Kong-based user with more than 240,000 followers.
“At around 9.30am, four masked men … broke into the building from the balcony and took away the jewellery on display,” a voice said in Mandarin at the 41-second mark of the video, as two separate clips of masked people breaking glass cases are shown.
However, a digital forensics expert and the Post’s own checks show they are not genuine, and likely generated by AI.