False: Viral ‘new car on fire’ video during firecrackers celebration is made by AI
A widely shared video in February shows a silver SUV catching fire after people light a large ring of firecrackers in front of it. It receieved thousands of likes and shares on X (here and here) and Instagram.
In the ten-second clip, the vehicle suddenly burst into flames after the firecrackers stop exploding in an unnatural way. Fire inside the cabin and smoke rising from the roof can be seen at the end of the footage.
Elements in the video, such as a blue license plate, Mandarin-speaking voices in the background, and Spring Festival couplets posted on both sides of the entrance door frame, suggest the setting is in China.
Some users commented on the footage questioning the safety of this “custom” in the country. Setting off firecrackers to celebrate buying a new car is a common theme in video content on Chinese platforms such as Douyin.
Alongside footage of genuine celebrations, however, AI-generated clips are also frequently posted (for example, here and here). They often depict cars catching fire during the firecracker ritual. The viral video on X and Instagram is also AI-generated.
Visual discrepancy
A close examination of the footage reveals several visual errors typical of AI-created clips.
In one frame, the security camera timestamp at the top left shows “2026-02-20 21:08:35” and counts forward until it abruptly loops back to “30” after reaching “39.”
The blue license plate is another clue. It contains completely illegible and distorted characters.
Generative AI models are known to often fail to produce consistent text or numbers.
Another clear inconsistency is that despite the apparent explosion, the red firecrackers on the ground remain intact and perfectly arranged in a neat circle throughout the clip, rather than being consumed or scattered by the blast.
Origin and Context
Using Douyin mobile app’s built-in image search function, Annie Lab traced the earliest upload of the same video to a Douyin user who posted it on Feb. 23, 2026.
That uploader explicitly labeled the post as “AI-generated,” in compliance with Douyin’s disclosure rules for synthetic media.
All of the same user’s other video clips appear to be AI-generated and include the disclaimer.
We reached out to the Douyin account and asked what specific AI tools were used to create the footage. We will update this story when we hear from the creator.
Newsmobile, an Indian fact-checking organization, also concluded that the same clip is AI-generated.
