World leaders squeeze into a selfie at the BRICS summit: real or AI?

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Posted on X by @EmbassyofRussia · Shown as an embedded post · Source

AI-MADE

A machine made this.

How sure we areVery high

Based on 2 strong and 0 supporting pieces of evidence.

What we found

The picture shows Vladimir Putin taking a selfie with other world leaders at the BRICS summit. The Russian Embassy in South Africa posted it on X on 13 September 2026, during the summit in New Delhi, with the caption "#BRICS is a #SUPERPOWER", and it spread widely, including on an Indian news site. The Quint found that the leaders of Brazil, the UAE and Turkey appear in it but did not attend, and that it includes Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May 2024. The Quint reported that OpenAI's checking tool said the picture was made with OpenAI's tools. Lead Stories found no credible news outlet using the picture to cover the summit, and noted that Putin is not known for taking selfies. When a picture shows a famous gathering, check who was really there against official photos from the event.

Key facts

Original source: Posted on X by @EmbassyofRussia
First published: Not recorded
Earlier appearances: Not recorded
The claim you saw: No caption recorded
Signs of AI: Yes. Shown below, but not what decided it

The evidence, strongest first

Strong Decides the answer

Published fact-checkThe Quint (WebQoof), September 2026↗Published fact-checkLead Stories, 14 September 2026↗

Supporting Points the same way

None.

Weak Shown, not relied on

How it looksTen leaders are packed into one selfie, and every face is sharp, evenly lit and smiling straight at the camera. A real phone selfie taken at arm's length is rarely that neat. Fact-checkers also found that some of the people shown were not at the summit at all. One of them, a former president of Iran, died in 2024.

Detector scores are often wrong, so they never decide a verdict here.

What we couldn’t establish

Exactly how it was made, and with which prompts, beyond what the sources above say. If you know more, tell us.

Bottom line

Made by AI: a published fact-check traced it.

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World leaders squeeze into a selfie at the BRICS summit: real or AI?

A machine made this.

Strong Decides the answer

Supporting Points the same way

Weak Shown, not relied on

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