As the Russia-Ukraine war has been in its second year, a picture of Russia’s President Putin wearing in Buddhist monk robe has been virally circulated on social media since last week. Then, a claim said Putin used to become a monk and learned Buddhist teaching. The picture with the claim had been shared many times along with comments and reactions. However, running Google Reverse Image Search proves the claim is misleading.
Social Media Claim
A photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing Buddhist monk robes was circulated on social media last week with a claim that the world power leader used to be a monk and learn Buddha teachings.
The photo with the claim has been shared many times as many social media users differently commented and reacted to the post.
The below capture of the Facebook post on March 23 said in Khmer “[Putin] used to be a Buddhism monk, but [he] is cruel, being worse than a dog. #Putin”
The same photo can be seen on social media. Below is another Facebook post saying “[I] accidentally saw this photo.”
Few days earlier, another Facebook user also uploaded photos of Putin and the U.S. President Joe Biden wearing Buddhism robes. The photos came with the caption “give up nuclear, turn to Dharma – Buddha teaching.”
Fact Checking
Fact Crescendo Cambodia began checking the photos mentioned above by running Google Reverse Image Search which led us to find out facts below.
The photos showing Russia’s Putin and President Biden wearing Buddhism yellow robes was published by a Thai media Khaosod English’s Facebook on March 19.
The caption posted by the media said the photos were reshared from a Facebook post of Thai artist and activist Ekachai Hongkangwan.
Below is the capture of Khaosod English’s Facebook post written “Imagine! Doctored photos of #Putin & #Biden as Buddhist monks are spreading online. Photos via Ekachai Hongkangwan FB. #Thailand #Russia #USA #UkraineRussiaWar.”
By searching in Ekachai Hongkangwan’s Facebook, we found other two photos of Putin and Biden practicing as Buddhist monks and the caption says “some people believe these photos are real. Stay tune.”
The Facebook user did not detail how these photos were made and who made them which look like real.
However, we found out the detail of these photos shared on social media. Then, we found out these photos were generated by AI Midjourney.
In recent weeks, we have seen a lot of AI-generated photos widely circulated on social media. Because some of them look like real, they are misleading some social media users.
Conclusion
Fact Crescendo Cambodia found out the claim mentioned above is misleading. Russian President Vladimir Putin has never been a Buddhist monk. Photos of Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden wearing Buddhism robes were generated by AI technology. They are among AI-generated photos going viral on social media in recent weeks.
Title:AI-Generated Photos of Putin and Biden Misleads Internet Users
Fact Check By: Jay UdomResult: Misleading
