Metro Myths: AI-Generated Videos Spark False Fire and Collapse Claims

FactWatch has identified two viral videos circulating on social media—one claiming that a metro train in Dhaka caught fire, and another alleging a metro track collapse killing a pedestrian—as AI-generated fabrications.

Following the recent Farmgate accident involving a falling metro bearing pad that caused a pedestrian’s death, a 12-second video emerged online showing vehicles moving beneath an elevated track. Moments later, a train passes above, the track collapses, and debris falls onto the road. Several posts claimed this to be a real incident from Dhaka’s Farmgate area.

Another widely shared video purportedly showed a metro train in Dhaka tilted on its side on the tracks, with flames burning from one section while onlookers recorded the scene from below.

On Friday, October 31, FactWatch announced that both videos were artificially created using generative AI technology. Its investigation confirmed that no recent fire incident involving the Dhaka metro rail had occurred. The visuals of the tilted train and track collapse were deemed unrealistic, and no local media outlet reported any such event.

The deepfake detection tool “Hive Moderation” analyzed one of the videos and found an 86 percent likelihood of AI generation. Another platform, “DeepFake-O-Meter,” confirmed that the content was indeed produced using artificial intelligence. Based on these findings, FactWatch labeled the viral claims about a metro fire as false.

FactWatch further noted that since last year, the spread of misinformation and fake content targeting the interim government and political groups involved in the 2024 movement has increased significantly across several Indian social media networks and some Bangladeshi Facebook accounts.

Verification through the DeepFake-O-Meter also revealed that the second video—allegedly depicting a metro pillar collapse at Farmgate on October 26—had no relation to the real event. While the actual accident involved a fallen bearing pad that killed one pedestrian, the viral footage showed railings along the metro track that do not exist in Dhaka’s metro infrastructure. The collapse scene was deemed entirely fabricated, with investigators concluding that the video was “100 percent AI-generated.”