An AI (artificial intelligence)-generated image purporting to show a bride dressed in a bikini at a wedding function, has gone viral with a false claim that it shows a bride in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
BOOM found the image to be AI-generated and traced its origin to a subreddit community.
The image purports to show a scene from a wedding ceremony where the 'groom' is wearing a sherwani whereas the 'bride' is wearing a yellow bikini and a veil (dupatta) of the same colour covering her head and holding a garland in her hands. The bride also appears to be wearing traditional red bangles and mehendi (henna) on her hands and legs. Another Indian woman is seen in the background and the back profile of a little girl is seen in the foreground of the image.
Several social media users have criticised the 'bride' for her choice of clothing believing both the photo and the claim to be real. The photo is being shared with a caption that claims, "Lucknow bride breaks stereotype by wearing Banarasi bikini in marriage ceremony. Internet split into two halves."
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
The image is also circulating on X with different captions.
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Fact Check: Lucknow Bride in Bikini Image
BOOM ran a reverse image search on the photo to trace its origin and found a Reddit post from November 18, 2024. The image was posted on a subreddit called Desi Adult Fusion - which described itself as a subreddit dedicated to showcasing AI-generated artwork related to 'desi culture'.
Additionally, we noticed that the user who posted the picture, along with a set of other photographs, replied to another Reddit user who remarked saying 'Best use of AI.'
Another Reddit user in the same subreddit posted a screenshot of a Facebook post that shared the viral image and wrote "People Misusing our AI generated Images".
The post can be viewed here, and its archive can be viewed here.
BOOM also tested the image using TrueMedia's AI detection tool. The result concluded with 98 percent confidence that the photo was generated using AI tools that create photorealistic images. The result also showed 94 percent confidence that the photo was likely generated using Midjourney - an AI image generator.
Click here to view the result.