Chinese state media said that a widely shared video purporting to show a major road collapse in Shanghai was generated by artificial intelligence and was false.
A 49-year-old woman, identified only as Luo, was placed under administrative detention for spreading the misinformation, according to a notice from a local branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau cited by the Global Times.
Luo was accused of “claiming a partial ground collapse in a metro construction site in Shanghai to attract followers, causing adverse social impact,” the notice said.
The video circulated widely on social media Thursday and Friday. It claimed that a partial ground collapse had occurred at the construction site of the Jia-Min Line metro project in Shanghai’s Jiading district. The post also alleged it was the second such collapse risk in less than four months, according to the notice.
“After verification by the public security authorities, the information was found to be fake,” the notice said on Saturday.
Shanghai Metro said on its WeChat account that a localised leakage occurred on Wednesday on the Jia-Min Line. No casualties were reported.
On Thursday afternoon, however, Shanghai Shentong Metro Group told reporters that a collapse had occurred at the site in the same area as the leakage the previous day.
The area was sealed off and no one was injured, the company said. The cause remains under investigation.
