China Faces AI Flood Fake Videos Crisis

Officials and academics say the problem is being made worse by AI tools that are easy to use and capable of producing convincing text, images, audio and video. Huang Zhihua, a deputy chief with the Zhejiang Police Department, told Chinese state media that some creators exploit disaster news to gain followers and boost likes and views. Professor Chen Bin warned in a newspaper published by the Communist Party’s Central Party School that AI sharply lowers the skill needed to make false material on a large scale. Professor Gao Fuping of the East China University of Political Science and Law said some people post false content for amusement, personal traffic, or to stir panic and unrest.

Calls have grown for all AI-generated content to be clearly marked, but experts say that markings can be edited out. Professor Xu Xiaoke of Beijing Normal University said better verification of locations, timestamps and image sources is needed, but also cautioned that detection tools still lag behind the tools used to generate fake material. He described the situation as a constant cat-and-mouse fight.

China is pouring money into AI as part of its drive to become a leading tech power, and state media says the country now has more than 6,000 AI companies. At the same time, mistrust has deepened after officials and state-controlled media were accused in past cases of softening disaster coverage, including a dam breach near Naning in July that was later linked to at least 26 downstream deaths and a 2021 case in Henan involving 139 deaths. Police say the public should rely on accredited sources during disasters. The takeaway is simple: when real emergencies strike, fake AI videos can spread fear just as fast as floodwater.