Media Alert: That Scorched Oscar is Not Real, Here’s How We Know

Although there is ample authentic evidence showcasing the immense destruction caused by the LA wildfires, the scorched Oscar image is not one of them. Using a combination of forensic tools and online investigation, here’s what our GetReal team pieced together.

Context: On Sunday, January 12, Italian-American actress Isabella Rossellini shared a “heartbreaking photo” on Instagram of a charred Oscar statuette lying atop what appears to be rubble. At first glance, the presumption is that it is a rare remnant of a home devastated by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles. However, there are no details in her post or in the image that reveal where or when this photo could have allegedly been taken, yet it spread widely online.

Forensics: GetReal’s Chief Science Officer, Hany Farid, analyzed this image using the GetReal Workbench, which analyzes various aspects of the image for traces of synthesis or manipulation. These analyses found both statistical and physical anomalies suggesting that the image was likely to be synthesized or modified. Most notably, AI models trained to distinguish between authentic and AI-generated images reveal evidence of AI generation. A secondary analysis of the shadows and lighting reveals physically implausible lighting.

“AI-generated content is becoming increasingly more photorealistic and increasingly easier to create."

:"Detection of these fakes is becoming more difficult, highlighting the need for a rich set of forensic tools capable of analyzing all aspects of an image,” explained Farid.

Investigation: We traced the image back to a Facebook group dedicated to sharing AI-creations and digital art, the image had been taken down but the creator had also uploaded it to another FB art group on January 11. GRL’s Chief Investigative Officer, Emmanuelle Saliba, was able to reach the creator and exchange messages. Grzech, a graphic designer, explained that his intention was ‘not to mislead people.’

After learning this year's Oscar nominations were going to be delayed, he created the graphic to highlight the news. Grzech was surprised when people misunderstood his intention and mistook the graphic for a realistic image. "Let one thing be clear, the fires in Los Angeles are a great tragedy," he emphasized.  

Grzech, who asked to be identified by first name only, said he created the image on his phone using Google's Gemini. He shared the original file image and his prompts with us. Grzech then used Adobe Photoshop on his laptop to adjust the statuette's head to make it look more realistic.

Our two-frame animation shows the before and after.

Over the next couple of days, the image would take on a life of its own spreading beyond these two Facebook groups, jumping onto other platforms to finally end up on Rossellini’s Instagram, where it took on a new level of virality.

The version published on her Instagram seemed to contain an additional element not seen in the two versions sent by the creator. We spotted a new digital signature on the bottom right corner.

This is an example of how quickly an image can spread and be taken out of context. This will become more common, especially since we are moving towards a world where this type of content can easily be created on our phones.