Claim: A video shows a survivor of the Swat floods and another shows bystanders speaking to a reporter during a live broadcast.
Fact: The two videos are likely AI-generated and do not depict authentic survivors of the Swat floods or any actual news broadcasts.
A video begins with a reporter referring to the victims of the Swat floods and asking a woman, “Aap bhi un 18 logon mein thein?” [Were you also among the 18 people?]
The woman responds, “Hum tasweerein le rahay thay, achanak paani charh aya, sab cheekhnay lagay, mein kisi tarhan bach gaye.” [We were taking photographs when suddenly the water level rose; everyone started screaming. I somehow managed to survive.] Behind them, a fast-flowing river can be seen.
A separate video shows a reporter standing amid a crowd of people whose faces are covered in mud. She asks, “Jab log Darya-e-Swat mein doob rahay thay tab intezaamiya kahin thi?” [When people were drowning in the Swat River, where was the administration?]
A bystander responds, “Woh tou crruption ke biscuit khanay mein masroof thi.” [They were busy eating the biscuits of corruption.] The video then cuts to a wider shot of the river, showing a large crowd gathered near its edge.
What happened in Swat?
On 27 June, heavy monsoon rains triggered flash floods in the Swat district, causing a sudden and dramatic surge in the Swat River and nearby streams. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) described the flood level as “very high,” as two days of relentless downpours left dozens of people trapped and rescue teams were deployed at key locations.
One of the most devastating incidents occurred near the bypass road, where 19 tourists, belonging to two families from Sialkot and Mardan, had gathered on a rocky area by the riverbank. Eyewitnesses reported that the river swelled rapidly, surrounding the group with little warning, and swept them away before they could escape.
Locals and more than 80 rescue workers searched for survivors, according to rescue official Shah Fahad. A relative of the victims told Reuters TV, “They went to take some selfies. There was not much water at that time. Suddenly, floodwaters came and swept away the children. The water current was so strong that it looked like a dyke had been breached.”
Residents said the victims waited more than two hours for official rescue services to arrive. According to a local eyewitness, four people had already been swept away by the time rescue personnel and police arrived at the scene. The current had become so strong that it was difficult even for the rescuers to enter the water, the eyewitness added while speaking to Reuters. In response to the delayed rescue efforts, the provincial government later suspended several administrative and rescue service officials for negligence.
Only four individuals were rescued, while nine bodies were recovered later that day. Among the victims was nine year-old Anfaal, whose body was found in the Panjkora River, in Barang tehsil of Bajaur district. Locals immediately informed Rescue 1122 Bajaur, and a medical team transported her remains to RHC Barang for legal formalities before returning her body to the grieving family in Malakand.
On Sunday, funeral prayers were held in Daska, Sialkot for nine members of a family that drowned. The bodies, recovered and transported by ambulance, were laid to rest in their ancestral graveyard in the presence of grieving relatives and thousands of citizens who attended the ceremony.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed sorrow over the incident, calling it avoidable with timely rescue efforts. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif linked the incident to glacial melting from heatwaves. He emphasised the need for preparedness, and directed for a comprehensive prevention mechanism in collaboration with the provinces.
Two days after the tragedy, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur launched an anti-encroachment operation along the Swat River and halted all illegal mining activities, The Nation reported. The operation will later expand to other areas, the report added.
Soch Fact Check has recently debunked a slew of monsoon-related misinformation and disinformation, where AI-generated content falsely depicted accidents in cities like Karachi, Gujranwala, and Dera Ghazi Khan.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check questioned the authenticity of both videos as the microphones held by the reporters did not belong to any legitimate news channels. A reverse-image search of the logos on the mics did not yield any relevant results.
Both videos displayed signs typical of AI-generated visuals, prompting us to analyse them individually.
Video 1: Even though there’s a large riverin the background, the sound of flowing water cannot be heardl. This is unusual as ambient or natural background sounds can be heard Iin most live broadcasts.
Additionally, if the woman had just escaped from floodwaters, her voice doesn’t contain the fear or urgency expected in response to such a situation. Capturing genuine emotion is particularly difficult in AI-generated audio. When people speak, they convey feelings through tone shifts, emotional cues, and subtle changes in speech. So when a voice sounds awkwardly flat, emotionally disconnected, or delivers lines with mismatched tone, it’s often a sign of an AI-generated deepfake.
Upon closer inspection, we found a “Veo” watermark, which is an AI-powered video generation platform. The presence of this watermark suggests that the tool may have been used to create or edit elements of the video, indicating that it is not genuine.
Video 2: A major anomaly in the video appears toward the end, when the reporter’s lips start moving in sync with what the man is saying. This indicates poor visual-audio synchronisation.
According to a CanIPhish blog, syncing human speech with facial movements remains one of the most difficult challenges in AI. When people speak, their cheeks lift, jaws shift, chins tighten, and their eyes show subtle emotional cues. AI often struggles to reproduce micro-expressions, leading to slight mismatches between the sound and facial movements.
Additionally, the bystanders in the video display confused expressions rather than any visible signs of distress. AI is still unable to accurately replicate human emotions, resulting in stiff and unnatural reactions. Despite being covered in mud, their faces appear oddly glossy and airbrushed, which is unrealistic as prolonged exposure to mud or water typically causes smudging or discolouration.
Virality
The first video was shared here (archive) on Facebook.
On Instagram, it was shared here (archive) and here (archive).
The second video was shared here (archive) and here (archive) on Facebook.
Conclusion: The two videos are not authentic news broadcasts. They were likely created using AI.
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Background image in cover photo: The Friday Times
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