#FactCheck - Viral Video of Aircraft Carrier Destroyed in Sea Storm Is AI-Generated
Social media users are widely sharing a video claiming to show an aircraft carrier being destroyed after getting trapped in a massive sea storm. In the viral clip, the aircraft carrier can be seen breaking apart amid violent waves, with users describing the visuals as a “wrath of nature.”
However, CyberPeace Foundation’s research has found this claim to be false. Our fact-check confirms that the viral video does not depict a real incident and has instead been created using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Claim:
An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the viral video with the caption,“Nature’s wrath captured on camera.”The video shows an aircraft carrier appearing to be devastated by a powerful ocean storm. The post can be viewed here, and its archived version is available here.
https://x.com/Maailah1712/status/2011672435255624090
Fact Check:
At first glance, the visuals shown in the viral video appear highly unrealistic and cinematic, raising suspicion about their authenticity. The exaggerated motion of waves, structural damage to the vessel, and overall animation-like quality suggest that the video may have been digitally generated. To verify this, we analyzed the video using AI detection tools.
The analysis conducted by Hive Moderation, a widely used AI content detection platform, indicates that the video is highly likely to be AI-generated. According to Hive’s assessment, there is nearly a 90 percent probability that the visual content in the video was created using AI.
Conclusion
The viral video claiming to show an aircraft carrier being destroyed in a sea storm is not related to any real incident.It is a computer-generated, AI-created video that is being falsely shared online as a real natural disaster. By circulating such fabricated visuals without verification, social media users are contributing to the spread of misinformation.
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Introduction
Betting has long been associated with sporting activities and has found a growing presence in online gaming and esports globally. As the esports industry continues to expand, Statista has projected that it will reach a market value of $5.9 billion by 2029. As such, associated markets have also seen significant growth. In 2024, this segment accounted for an estimated $2.5 billion globally. While such engagement avenues are popular among international audiences, they also bring attention to concerns around regulation, integrity, and user protection. As esports builds its credibility and reach, especially among younger demographics, these aspects become increasingly important to address in policy and practice.
What Does Esports Betting Involve?
Much like traditional sports, esports engagement in some regions includes the practice of wagering on teams, players, or match outcomes. But it is inherently more complex. The accurate valuation of odds in online gaming and esports can be complicated by frequently updated game titles, changing teams, and shifting updates to game mechanics (called metas- most effective strategies). Bets can be placed using real money, virtual items like skins (digital avatars), or increasingly, cryptocurrency.
Esports and Wagering: Emerging Issues and Implications
- Legal Grey Areas: While countries like South Korea and some USA states have dedicated regulations for esports betting and licensed bookmaking, most do not. This creates legal grey areas for betting service providers to access unregulated markets, increasing the risk of fraud, money laundering, and exploitation of bettors in those regions.
- The Skill v/s Chance Dilemma: Most gambling laws across the world regulate betting based on the distinction between ‘games of skill’ and ‘games of chance’. Betting on the latter is typically illegal, since winning depends on chance. But the definitions of ‘skill’ and ‘chance’ may vary by jurisdiction. Also, esports betting often blurs into gambling. Outcomes may depend on player skill, but in-game economies like skin betting and unpredictable gameplay introduce elements of chance, complicating regulation and making enforcement difficult.
- Underage Gambling and Addiction Risks: Players are often minors and are exposed to the gambling ecosystem due to gamified betting through reward systems like loot boxes. These often mimic the mechanics of betting, normalising gambling behaviours among young users before they fully understand the risks. This can lead to the development of addictive behaviours.
- Match-Fixing and Loss of Integrity: Esports are particularly susceptible to match-fixing because of weak regulation, financial pressures, and the anonymity of online betting. Instances like the Dota 2 Southeast Asia Scandals (2023) and Valorant match-fixing in North America (2021) can jeopardise audience trust and sponsorships. This affects the trustworthiness of minor tournaments, where talent is discovered.
- Cybersecurity and Data Risks: Esports betting apps collect sensitive user data, making them an attractive target for cybercrime. Bettors are susceptible to identity theft, financial fraud, and data breaches, especially on unlicensed platforms.
Way Forward
To strengthen trust, ensure user safety, and protect privacy within the esports ecosystem, responsible management of betting practices can be achieved through targeted interventions focused on:
- National-Level Regulations: Countries like India have a large online gaming and esports market. It will need to create a regulatory authority along the lines of the UK’s Gambling Commission and update its gambling laws to protect consumers.
- Protection of Minors: Setting guardrails such as age verification, responsible advertising, anti-fraud mechanisms, self-exclusion tools, and spending caps can help to keep a check on gambling by minors.
- Harmonizing Global Standards: Since esports is inherently global, aligning core regulatory principles across jurisdictions (such as through multi-country agreements or voluntary industry codes of conduct) can help create consistency while avoiding overregulation.
- Co-Regulation: Governments, esports organisers, betting platforms, and player associations should work closely to design effective, well-informed policies. This can help uphold the interests of all stakeholders in the industry.
Conclusion
Betting in esports is inevitable. But the industry faces a double dilemma- overregulating on the one hand, or letting gambling go unchecked, on the other. Both can be detrimental to its growth. This is why there is a need for industry actors like policymakers, platforms and organisers to work together to harmonise legal inconsistencies, protect vulnerable users and invest in forming data security. Forming industry-wide ethics boards, promoting regional regulatory dialogue, and instating transparency measures for betting operators can be a step in this direction to ensure that esports evolves into a mature, trusted global industry.
Sources
Overview:
‘Kia Connect’ is the application that is used to connect ‘Kia’ cars which allows the user control various parameters of the vehicle through the application on his/her smartphone. The vulnerabilities found in most Kias built after 2013 with but little exception. Most of the risks are derived from a flawed API that deals with dealer relations and vehicle coordination.
Technical Breakdown of Exploitation:
- API Exploitation: The attack uses the vulnerabilities in Kia’s dealership network. The researchers also noticed that, for example, the logs generated while impersonating a dealer and registering on the Kia dealer portal would be sufficient for deriving access tokens needed for next steps.
- Accessing Vehicle Information: The license plate number allowed the attackers to get the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) number of their preferred car. This VIN can then be used to look up more information about the car and is an essential number to determine for the shared car.
- Information Retrieval: Having the VIN number in hand, attackers can launch a number of requests to backends to pull more sensitive information about the car owner, including:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Geographical address
- Modifying Account Access: With this information, attackers could change the accounts settings to make them a second user on the car, thus being hidden from the actual owner of the account.
- Executing Remote Commands: Once again, it was discovered that attackers could remotely execute different commands on the vehicle, which includes:some text
- Unlocking doors
- Starting the engine
- Monitoring the location of the vehicle in terms of position.
- Honking the horn
Technical Execution:
The researchers demonstrated that an attacker could execute a series of four requests to gain control over a Kia vehicle:
- Generate Dealer Token: The attacker sends an HTTP request in order to create a dealer token.
- Retrieve Owner Information: As indicated using the generated token, they make another request to another endpoint that returns the owner’s email address and phone number.
- Modify Access Permissions: The attacker takes advantage of the leaked information (email address and VIN) of the owner to change between users accounts and make himself the second user.
- Execute Commands: As the last one, they can send commands to perform actions on the operated vehicle.
Security Response and Precautionary Measures for Vehicle Owners
- Regular Software Updates: Car owners must make sure their cars receive updates on the recent software updates provided by auto producers.
- Use Strong Passwords: The owners of Kia Connect accounts should develop specific and complex passwords for their accounts and then update them periodically. They should avoid using numbers like the birth dates, vehicle numbers and simple passwords.
- Enable Multi-Factor Authentication: For security, vehicle owners should turn on the use of the secondary authentication when it is available to protect against unauthorized access to an account.
- Limit Personal Information Sharing: Owners of vehicles should be careful with the details that are connected with the account on their car, like the e-mail or telephone number, sharing them on social networks, for example.
- Monitor Account Activity: It is also important to monitor the account activity because of change or access attempts that are unauthorized. In case of any abnormality or anything suspicious felt while using the car, report it to Kia customer support.
- Educate Yourself on Vehicle Security: Being aware of cyber threats that are connected to vehicles and learning about how to safeguard a vehicle from such threats.
- Consider Disabling Remote Features When Not Needed: If remote features are not needed, then it is better to turn them off, and then turn them on again when needed. This can prove to help diminish the attack vector for would-be hackers.
Industry Implications:
The findings from this research underscore broader issues within automotive cybersecurity:
- Web Security Gaps: Most car manufacturers pay more attention to equipment running in automobiles instead of the safety of the websites that the car uses to operate thereby exposing automobiles that are connected very much to risks.
- Continued Risks: Vehicles become increasingly connected to internet technologies. Auto makers will have to carry cyber security measures in their cars in the future.
Conclusion:
The weaknesses found in Kia’s connected car system are a key concern for Automotive security. Since cars need web connections for core services, suppliers also face the problem of risks and need to create effective safeguards. Kia took immediate actions to tighten the safety after disclosure; however, new threats will emerge as this is a dynamic domain involving connected technology. With growing awareness of these risks, it is now important for car makers not only to put in proper security measures but also to maintain customer communication on how it safeguards their information and cars against cyber dangers. That being an incredibly rapid approach to advancements in automotive technology, the key to its safety is in our capacity to shield it from ever-present cyber threats.
Reference:
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/auto/cars/hackers-could-unlock-your-kia-car-with-just-a-license-plate-is-yours-safe/articleshow/113837543.cms
- https://www.thedrive.com/news/hackers-found-millions-of-kias-could-be-tracked-controlled-with-just-a-plate-number
- https://www.securityweek.com/millions-of-kia-cars-were-vulnerable-to-remote-hacking-researchers/
- https://news24online.com/auto/kia-vehicles-hack-connected-car-cybersecurity-threat/346248/
- https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/09/millions-of-kia-vehicles-were-vulnerable-to-remote-attacks-with-just-a-license-plate-number
- https://informationsecuritybuzz.com/kia-vulnerability-enables-remote-acces/
- https://samcurry.net/hacking-kia
A video circulating on social media claims to show former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar commenting on England batter Joe Root’s batting feats. In the clip, Tendulkar is allegedly heard saying that if Joe Root continues scoring centuries, even his (Tendulkar’s) record would be broken. The video further claims that Tendulkar says if Root scores another century, he would give up the bat’s grip, after which the clip abruptly ends.
Users sharing the video are claiming that Sachin Tendulkar has taken a dig at Joe Root through this remark.
Cyber Peace Foundation’s research found the claim to be misleading. Our research clearly establishes that the viral video is not authentic but has been created using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and is being shared online with a false narrative.
CLAIM
On January 5, 2025, several users shared the viral video on Instagram, claiming it shows Sachin Tendulkar making remarks about Joe Root’s century-scoring spree.
(Post link and archive link available.)
FACT CHECK
To verify the claim, we extracted keyframes from the viral video and conducted a Google Reverse Image Search. This led us to an interview of Sachin Tendulkar published on the official BBC News YouTube channel on November 18, 2013. The visuals from that interview match exactly with those seen in the viral clip.
This establishes that the visuals used in the viral video are old and have been repurposed with manipulated audio to create a misleading narrative.
Further, Joe Root made his Test debut in 2012. At that time, he had not scored multiple Test centuries and was nowhere close to Sachin Tendulkar’s record tally of hundreds. This timeline itself makes the viral claim factually incorrect.
(Link to the original BBC interview available.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6Rz4pgR9UQ
Upon closely examining the viral clip, we noticed that Sachin Tendulkar’s voice sounded unnatural and inconsistent. This raised suspicion of audio manipulation.
We then ran the viral video through an AI detection tool, Aurigin AI. According to the results, the audio in the video was found to be 100 percent AI-generated, confirming that Tendulkar never made the statements attributed to him in the clip.
Conclusion
Our research confirms that the viral video claiming Sachin Tendulkar commented on Joe Root’s centuries is fake. The video has been created using AI-generated audio and misleadingly combined with visuals from a 2013 interview. Users are sharing this manipulated clip on social media with a false claim.
