Verified: An image claiming to show the “Sagaing Fault” has been shared over a thousand times — but it turns out to be AI-generated.

Fake imageMar 29, 202502:30|Environment & Disaster

Following the powerful earthquake in Myanmar, Thai PBS Verify found a report featuring an image of a large ground fissure claimed to be the 'Sagaing Fault.' However, after verification, it was revealed to be an AI-generated image. The public is warned not to be misled, as the image has already been shared over 1,000 times.

Following the powerful earthquake in Myanmar, Thai PBS Verify discovered a widely circulated image on social media that claimed to depict a large ground rupture — supposedly the “Sagaing Fault” in Myanmar. However, upon investigation, it was found that the image was actually generated by artificial intelligence. Authorities warn the public not to be misled, as the image has already been shared more than 1,000 times.

The recent strong earthquake in Myanmar, which severely impacted parts of Thailand, caused damage and losses. In the aftermath, a viral image began spreading on social media, alleging to show the “Sagaing Fault” following the quake.

Source: Facebook

Verification Process

One notable page, “Asa Pathum,” posted the image with the caption: “Image of the Sagaing Fault – the sleeping giant of Southeast Asia: the cause of earthquakes in Thailand and Myanmar.” The post garnered over 760 likes and was shared more than 1,100 times.

However, when we ran the image through Google’s image verification tool, Google Lens, we found that the same image matched with two other sources as well — namely, here and here.

However, upon further investigation, it was found that posts from both of these sources were made later than the one from the “Asa Pathum” page, which had already been reviewed. Therefore, they are not the original source of the image.

We then ran the image through an AI image detection tool, and the result showed with 99% certainty that it was generated by Midjourney AI. (Saved link)

Does a fault line like this really exist?

We found that a fault resembling the widely shared image does exist — but it is located in Pinglu City, Shanxi Province, China, on the Loess Plateau, a highland region in north-central China.

Map

The actual fault spans an area of approximately 400,000 square kilometers and stretches about 10 kilometers in length, caused by tectonic plate movements. However, it is not the Sagaing Fault and is not related to the Sagaing Fault in any way.