After Scare Over Leopards In Lucknow's Posh Areas, An AI Twist

Reports of leopards seen roaming around in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow have been widely shared on social media for the last few days. Some locals have even said the big cats entered residential areas, leading to a scare.

Taking note of the concerns, the forest department swung into action - it began investigating the reported sightings.

The visuals of the leopards came from Lucknow's posh areas such as Ashiana, Ruchi Khand, and Gomti Nagar, where there are a mix of commercial and residential properties.

Divisional forest officer Sitanshu Pandey said they checked the incident thoroughly and finally nailed it with the arrest of two people.

But what has the arrests got to do with leopard sightings?

The officer said some young men edited the leopard visuals using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to make them look real. They showed leopards roaming around homes and shared the content on social media.

In reality, there were no leopards.

The divisional forest officer has asked residents to remain calm and not panic over something that is not true.

The viral content, however, spread so quickly that some people even told reporters they indeed saw leopards at residential areas.

The police detained a young man and questioned him, after which another was detained. Both admitted to posting the leopard visuals for fun. A police complaint has also been filed against them.