The viral image was created using artificial intelligence and does not represent the real landscape of Manaus city in Brazil
A post circulating on social media (here, here, and here) features a photo showing a sharp divide between a city and a lush forest. It is being shared with claims that the image depicts the Brazilian city of Manaus meeting the Amazon rainforest, with the caption: “This is the city of Manaus, Brazil. A place where modern human civilization abruptly stops, replaced by the immense Amazon rainforest.” Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
Claim: The photo shows a sharp divide between the city of Manaus and the lush Amazon rainforest in Brazil.
Fact: The image is AI-generated. While Manaus is indeed bordered by the Amazon rainforest, the viral photo is not an actual depiction of the city. AI detection tools confirm it was created using artificial intelligence. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
A Google Lens search of the viral photo led to multiple posts featuring the same image. The website’s “About this image” feature indicated that the image was created using Google’s AI tools and was first indexed one week ago.
To confirm this, we utilized Sightengine’s AI image detection tool, which determined with 99% confidence that the image was generated using artificial intelligence.
To further verify, we used another tool Decopy.ai which indicated with 95.34% confidence that the image was AI-generated.
In further investigation, we found that Manaus City is directly bordered by the Amazon rainforest, creating a sharp contrast between urban development and dense jungle. Google Earth’s satellite and street view imagery also shows how buildings are at the city’s boundary but the viral image is AI-generated.
To sum up, the viral image was created using artificial intelligence and does not represent the real landscape of Manaus city in Brazil.