As Myanmar’s junta waged a campaign to capture territory controlled by local militias ahead of elections slated for late December, an AI-generated image was shared in social media posts claiming it was a photo of rebel forces killed by the military. The image was flagged as having been made with Google AI and contains visual errors often found in AI-generated content.
“The dead bodies of Chaung U People’s Defence Forces (PDF),” reads part of the Burmese-language caption of a Facebook image shared on December 2, 2025, referring to armed resistance to the military junta in a key region of central Myanmar.
The image appears to show 13 bodies covered in shrouds that are laid out on the ground, with mourners crouched nearby and covering their faces with their hands.
The caption adds the PDF troops were killed by “heavy weapons and a gyrocopter” under the command of the Northwestern Military District Headquarters.
Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on December 12, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
The image was also shared in identical Facebook posts.
“PDF are also citizens,” read a comment on one of the posts.
Another said: “I am very sad to see that.”
The image spread as Myanmar’s military junta attempted to recover territory ahead of polls it said will start on December 28. Rebels have pledged to block the elections in their enclaves, and analysts describe the vote as a ploy to disguise the continuation of military rule (archived link).
The country has been mired in civil war since a February 2021 coup that saw the military oust the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi, ending a decade-long experiment with democracy.
While there is no official death toll for Myanmar’s war and estimates vary widely, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) organisation, which tallies media reports of violence, reports more than 85,000 people have been killed on all sides.
The image circulating on social media, however, does not show people killed in the conflict.
A reverse image search on Google found the picture was labelled as “Made with Google AI” in its “About this image” feature.
A subsequent analysis conducted with Google’s SynthID tool — launched in May 2025 to detect AI-generated content — identified with a “Very High” degree of confidence that the images were created with the help of its AI tools (archived link).
Screenshots of results from the SynthID analysis
A closer look at the falsely shared image also shows it contains visual errors indicative of AI-generated content, including individuals with warped fingers and ears, the mourners all adopting the same pose and some appearing to partially sit on the bodies.
Screenshot of the falsely shared image, with visual anomalies highlighted and magnified by AFP
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to the unrest in Myanmar.
