Recently, pictures depicting giant statues of Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, at roundabouts, appeared on social media.
The pictures were mostly published on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Some of the social media users who shared the images claimed that the statues were being erected at roundabouts in Benue.
The posts showed two giant statues of Alia being built at busy roundabouts. In one of the images, the statue of Alia was dressed in the traditional black and white strip fabric of the Tiv people of Benue while in the second image, the statue was dressed in an emerald green suit with a bishop collar.
An X user identified as @SadiqMaunde posted the two images with the caption: “The executive governor of Benue state. APC governors just dey compete for clown pass”.
The post, published on Saturday, has so far generated over 300,000 views, 241 quotes, and 426 reposts.
A Facebook user identified as Areki U Ukum posted one of the images with the caption: “Proposed Chito roundabout. We mount. Alia/Areki 2027. On the ballot by God’s grace. #arekichambers”.
The post was also published here,and here.
VERIFICATION
A close examination of the images showed that they were generated with an AI tool. In one of the pictures, the builders standing on the scaffolding of the statue have no distinct heads and features.
CableCheck also discovered that the pictures were created with an image generative AI website known as Leonardo.ai.
The platform offers users the opportunity to create images using certain prompts, including uploading pictures to create the AI version.
A video showing US president Donald Trump in a giant statue like that of Alia, which was generated by AI, was published in this YouTube video. Many social media have also experimented with AI tools for creation of statues.
CableCheck also observed that the claim that the Benue governor was building statues of himself was not reported by any credible media platform.
When CableCheck reached out to Tersoo Kula, chief press secretary to Alia, he said his principal is not building any monument for himself in the state.
Kula said the pictures were AI-generated, while accusing opposition parties of creating the pictures to generate “tension and tarnish the image” of the governor.
He added that the pictures were generated amid the infrastructural projects being executed by the Alia-led administration in Benue.
VERDICT
Images showing the statues of Alia being erected at roundabouts in Benue are AI-generated.
