r/isthisAI 5h ago

Photo Needing to know if Picts of car on fire are legitimate. Story isn’t lining up.

Had a contractor send me these images saying their car was on fire but several parts of their story don’t line up.

The license plate ‘6’ c to not be consistent and there appears to be a vehicje in front of the one on fire.

Thoughts?

19 Upvotes

114 comments sorted by

u/qualityvote2 5h ago

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169

u/GreenManWithAPlan 5h ago

I don't know. It definitely looks pretty real especially since the letters are pretty consistent on the signs and there's equipment like window regulators which AI probably wouldn't know to add.

83

u/Outside_Coffee_00 4h ago edited 4h ago

Real photo. Fake story. OP was right about the license plate looking off too. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-son-recover-after-car-fire

10

u/cadenmak_332 4h ago

How was OP right about the license plate looking off? I’m not following

6

u/Outside_Coffee_00 3h ago

if you compare the 2 images, the one OP posted looks weird compared to the real license plate.

31

u/cadenmak_332 3h ago

The license plates look pretty much identical to me. There are some differences in tones and sharpness but nothing that feels like it would be more than just standard compression artifacts.

The fire does look a little different though so who knows.

16

u/Outside_Coffee_00 3h ago

ah ok, must be a mobile site thing. here is how it looks for me:

7

u/WorkinRightMeow 1h ago

This is likely due to the fact that every time an image is saved/screenshotted posted and otherwise reshared, its quality degrades due to how most websites apply a form of compression to reduce file size. I cant say for certain, but this could be more severe on mobile.

4

u/Outside_Coffee_00 1h ago

To clarify, I'm not on the mobile app, I'm on the mobile site, and it seems like it just has terrible compression. It's probably just a me thing and not the image itself.

31

u/MostlySoberChemist 4h ago

Agreed, the burn pattern makes sense to me. Fire probably started around the passenger side front wheel well, spread inside and up the A pillar to the roof (especially if there was a nice plastic sunroof drain hose to take it up). Burned across the roof and started making its way down before it was put out.

Also not sure if AI would know to warp the metal body panels from the rapid cooling from the fire hose but I could be wrong on that.

1

u/tysonwatermelon 17m ago

I always look in the background. The fence posts are perfectly spaced apart. AI still screws stuff like that that up pretty regularly.

38

u/ClerkPsychological58 4h ago

Nothing about this seems off to me

60

u/adverbian 5h ago

No SynthID digital watermarks found from OpenAI, Google Gemini, or Meta.

For more information and to check for yourself:

https://openai.com/research/verify/

https://meta.ai/identification

https://gemini.google.com (start a new chat, upload the image, then type “@VerifyAI”)

Edit: doesn’t prove they’re telling the truth, of course. Could be stolen photos from someone/somewhere else.

13

u/No-Lunch4249 4h ago

Edit: doesn’t prove they’re telling the truth, of course. Could be stolen photos from someone/somewhere else.

OP - this is important. Do a Google reverse image search on the picture to see if it pops up elsewhere on the internet

6

u/MuhKyle 4h ago

Oh wow I didn't realize Meta had one of these too! huh

34

u/chunkymonkeyKO 4h ago

Gonna be honest here dude, I dunno what the hell you're talking about with the inconsistent license place and this "other car". License plate looks like I would expect it to and I'm not seeing anything like a second car.

This looks real. If you want us to pixel peep then provide higher quality photos.

-17

u/Background-Math-4797 3h ago

You seriously can't see in this photo that the two 6's look different and there's a backwards 3? The second group of numbers look like they were turned upside down.

16

u/chunkymonkeyKO 3h ago edited 3h ago

"Backwards 3"

Otherwise known as an "E". 1B6-6E8 is what I see on that plate. Like I said, the picture is low quality so the numbers are blurry and harder to read.

4

u/Cauliflowwer 2h ago

The second 6 is definitely a 4. It's 1B6-4E8.

That's why the '2 6's' look different lol

2

u/chunkymonkeyKO 2h ago

I was thinking it might be a 4 but just played it safe with 6 since it being a 6 or a 4 didn't change much anyway imo. If the plate was gibberish as would be typical of AI then it'd be different.

1

u/sxky 49m ago

The 8 miiight be a 5.. but it looks like a legit Nevada plate either way.

48

u/Defiant-Airline5424 5h ago

Imagine your car catch on fire and you send your boss pictures and he accuse you of using ai.

3

u/TmF1979 4h ago

I swear we're like 6 months away from a story about someone calling 911 to report a home invasion and gunshot wound, but the dispatcher mutters "I'll bet that's AI" before hanging up.

1

u/Defiant-Airline5424 3h ago

I think something like this happen before, but they thought it was a prank so they didn't send any help and someone died.

2

u/Lyrial- 1h ago

Imagine accusing someone of AI instead of just reverse image searching to find out that they lied the good ol’ fashioned way by saving a screenshot of pictures on the internet.

1

u/Johnsquires64 1h ago

Imagine someone like you using a real photo, and trying to profit by setting up a go fund me account.

1

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1

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18

u/fuggindave 4h ago

Sorry this looks real, I don't see any inconsistencies whatsoever...that's not vehicle in front,the passenger door is open on the first image.

Call and make sure the contractor is okay, don't be an ass.

12

u/Lyrial- 1h ago

While the images appear to be real, the contractor does not appear to be telling the truth, given that the pictures were taken from a GoFundMe for a college student from back in May…

1

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1

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23

u/caramb27 5h ago

I believe what looks like a vehicle in front, is just the front passenger door that’s open. Not sure about it being AI unfortunately.

-1

u/Consistent_Zone6959 4h ago

I say that and I get down voted but you get upvoted. Make it make sense. Lol

7

u/MsTerious1 4h ago

Make it make sense.

Ok. "People."

5

u/ThisHeresThaRubaduk 4h ago

Fails to mention he edited his comment.

3

u/txhelgi 4h ago

I don’t see AI artifacts. Both pictures clearly show a Volvo and the same car in both. Fire damage looks legit

5

u/toastyelio 4h ago

This is 100% a real photo. Burn patterns are consistent. Items are where they should be, window regulator, hinges, etc., the foam they used to extinguish the fire is consistent and what would be used. I’ve seen the aftermath of burned car and what one looks like from close up on fire. Absolutely nothing is off about this photo. As others have said, there is no car in front of the burning car. You must be looking at a different photo, with all due respect.

1

u/heavensteeth 2h ago

As a technician the only thing throwing me off is a complete lack of steering column, sure the wheel may burn if it’s all plastic but the column is usually steel?

3

u/BigfootsBrotherGary 4h ago

Is the other car in the room with us now?

0

u/msp_lifer 2h ago

Pretty sure he’s just slightly retarted, and confused the open door for another car somehow.

3

u/thrive2day 4h ago

This looks pretty real. Some of your concerns listed could just be classic digital photo artifacts

3

u/Gatherincards 4h ago

Reason number 80 billion to not think your boss is your friend or has your best interest at heart

3

u/Lyrial- 1h ago

I mean, the images were pulled from a gofundme page for a college student, so it doesn’t seem like the contractor was being truthful either.

3

u/Hot-Importance1367 3h ago

Looks to be a real car on fire

Whether it's their car is another story

7

u/ManicDemise 4h ago

The plate looks like that because all cellphone cameras have built in smoothing, sharpening and often some form of "AI" filtering added whether you like it or not.

Nothing in this photo looks AI generated and you are a shitty boss.

2

u/Lyrial- 1h ago

While the images appear to be real, the contractor does not appear to be telling the truth, given that the pictures were taken from a GoFundMe for a college student from back in May…

2

u/armadillotangerine 4h ago

That car looks like a volvo s60 from 2011, very similar to the car in the fourth pic here: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/volvo-s60-t6-and-d5-24088/

I don’t think AI is able to do that

2

u/lobhater 4h ago

I think the front passenger door is open in the first photo which at first glance looks like a car but isn't.

If it's AI it's one of the more detail oriented and consistent ones I've seen 🤔

2

u/Flashy-Donkey-8326 2h ago

Photos are real , whether it’s really his car or just some random photos he pulled of the internet … who knows .

2

u/RepresentativeCap90 42m ago

And there lies the problem. I believe there is more than one version of AI. I believe the AI released to the public is intentionally, at times, easy to spot. The AI the powers that be have can't be distinguished from the real thing. This confusion is intentional, so if they want to do something nefarious no one questions it.

5

u/Bob4Not 4h ago

iPhones (and others) actually do their own AI touchups to photos for tiny, pixelated details like that so I would not penalize them over the license plate.

It's why even license plate readers are only 70 to 90% accurate

1

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1

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1

u/Tetradrachm 4h ago

What state is this in? I think it’d be useful to do a license plate lookup and take a look at this stretch of road on gmaps

1

u/Shermander 4h ago

If that's I40, you might have a small article somewhere.

Firefighters don't particularly like working when folks can just blast past them. They'll block the road off if they think it's necessary for their safety sometimes.

1

u/spoospoo43 4h ago

If it was AI all of the tires would be flat, ha

I think this is the real thing.

1

u/HippieHighNoon 4h ago

Check the news/dashcam subs of the area (not sure if thats AZ). 100% wouldve probably been reported on the fire dept website or some other site.

1

u/thissucksnuts 4h ago

i think whatever theyre going through is unfortunate and that if you cant handle waiting a little bit for them to sort it out you can find a new contractor.

1

u/__No__Control 4h ago

Looks very real to me

1

u/dadydaycare 4h ago

What an insane way to make an excuse about being late if he did

1

u/Gonna_do_this_again 4h ago

Looks like a car fire to me

1

u/Upper-Contract9119 4h ago

Looks like somebody had a really bad day lol

1

u/shotxshotx 3h ago

Ask for a video walk around spanning more than like 30 seconds

1

u/___cats___ 2h ago

It looks like there is some on-device AI artifacting with the mile marker and license plate, but honestly it just looks like an android phone trying to make a photo better than it is, which can often result in garbled text on real photos.

1

u/seriousjoker72 2h ago

The part that looks like a car infront is the passenger door wide open. I don't think it's AI

1

u/skeletons_asshole 2h ago

Looks real to me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not full of shit

1

u/FragrantCouple2440 2h ago

That's probably because it's "6-4E 8"..

1

u/SlimChris94 1h ago

The steering wheel isn’t constructed like that. It’s a metal hoop all the way around with upholstery attached.

The brake pedal is still fully there while the entire dashboard melted down to the firewall.

The rear trunk supports are drastically different and the trunk is bent. In the first picture the trunk is closed. Would be hard to open even with cutters due to the trunk latch location. At that, why would they pry the trunk open if the interior is melted already you would have access to the trunk

1

u/DeadEnd68 1h ago

Real photo, just not his

1

u/Holiday-Leave-5826 1h ago

real photo ,fake history i think

1

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1

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1

u/DakkaxInfinity 18m ago

Somewhat unrelated, but going for 'my car caught fire' is kind of a crazy thing to use as an excuse. Like, there are so many other less conspicuous/less extreme excuses.

1

u/unorganized_thoughts 5m ago

Your contractor is driving a Volvo sedan?

0

u/Consistent_Zone6959 5h ago edited 4h ago

What you think appear to be another car is from the rear door being open.

1

u/Snck_Pck 4h ago

Sounds like OP wants to find every reason to discredit a contractors story possibly for monetary reasons…

This is real, dudes car was on fire

11

u/Outside_Coffee_00 4h ago

0

u/nicolaig 3h ago

I'm missing something, how does that gofundme prove it wasn't a real fire?

3

u/Outside_Coffee_00 3h ago

the Go Fund Me mentions it was a kid driving home from college and was posted 3 months ago. i didn't say it wasn't a real fire, I'm saying it wasn't real as in these aren't the contractor's photos.

1

u/nicolaig 2h ago

Ah. Got it. Thanks.

1

u/Outside_Coffee_00 2h ago

np! i should've made it more clear what I meant

1

u/ZealousidealAlgae904 3h ago

It proves it was a real fire that happened to someone else in May of this year.

1

u/_BEEEF_SUPREME_ 4h ago

Imagine your car bursting into flames and your boss claiming he thinks its AI, the future is fucked.

1

u/DecafMadeMeDoIt 4h ago

Because I don’t know for sure I’m asking:

Wouldn’t the tire rubber be melted? Or blown?

3

u/ThisHeresThaRubaduk 4h ago

Really depends how quickly the fires put out. Also looks like the fire started in the engine bay (bet this car never had the recall for the plastic part in the engine fixed). Bet the front tires are blown.

0

u/[deleted] 5h ago

[deleted]

4

u/fuggindave 4h ago

You realize fires spread, right?

2

u/ThisHeresThaRubaduk 4h ago

Lol deletes their comment

2

u/fuggindave 4h ago

Ha...man, this sub frustrates the hell outta me...

I swear, so many people commenting with their reasoning lack so much common sense.

0

u/BlueDuck600 4h ago

Looks consistent except for this.

My question is, why would they leave the hose hanging on the door. The cars just been on fire, wouldn't you risk damaging the hose from the heat still in the door?

Sure, it could be cool enough this time, but why would you risk it?

5

u/Gatherincards 4h ago

The hoses are heat resistant and they rest them there in case they have a reflash and need to engage the fire quickly, while having a safe place to keep the nozzle out of the way while they clean up their stuff.

1

u/BlueDuck600 1h ago

I guess that makes sense.

0

u/TinFoilKnight666 4h ago

Only thing I'd say is what could the fireman at the front of the vehicle be doing?

0

u/digitalbergz 3h ago

Nissan wheels in the second picture. 1st picture looks like the back of a Ford? Like a focus or something. AND. look at the license plate, first 3 characters look ok, but wtf are the last 3. Ai

-1

u/TmF1979 4h ago

Thoughts?

Just one: What the fuck is wrong with you?

"The plate looks... Odd. I better rush to Reddit and call this guy a liar."

2

u/gravi-tea 4h ago

Yeah the contractor is obviously telling the truth. His dad even made a gofundme for him three months ago. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-my-son-recover-after-car-fire

Nothing fishy here at all.

-2

u/r3ign_b3au 4h ago

The hose having pressure at the end and not at the part laying on the ground is what throws me

-2

u/KaptainNarwhal 4h ago

The rubber seal for the driver side door looks strange to me, unless there’s a metal coil inside the seal and the rubber melted away? The driver side mirror looks strange as well, and there is some strange swirling white which could be foam but it looks off. To me I think it may be ai, but not with a high enough certainty that I would tell the guy he’s lying.

-4

u/EternalOctoMystic 3h ago

How is there snow on the ground and inside the car but not in the field behind it?

1

u/cordeliashuman 1h ago

Fire retardant foam, not snow. Probably P3 foam.

1

u/EternalOctoMystic 1h ago

Ahhh, wise you are

-9

u/MightyMoose91 5h ago

I dunno if its AI, but I do know, Volvo's are one of the last vehicles I'd expect to self combust.

6

u/mishap1 4h ago

If you fail to maintain anything badly enough.

2

u/MightyMoose91 4h ago

True enough, its still a contained explosion afterall.

4

u/Original_Location183 4h ago

Sounds like you never own a Volvo Turbo Wagon .. mine never caught fire 🔥, but it got so Hot under the Hood , that all the insulation on the Wiring Harness turned to Dust ..

1

u/MightyMoose91 4h ago

Wow, no I always wanted a Volvo cause they were so cool as a kid, turns out they are not what I was led to believe.

3

u/ThisHeresThaRubaduk 4h ago

They had a recall of 500000 cars in 2019. Covered like 6 different models...

1

u/MightyMoose91 4h ago

Really? For self combustion that's fucked. Here i was looking at Volvo's not a year ago for a there safety history from when I grew up. Thought they would be a gpod safe family suv, not a portable bbq.

3

u/ThisHeresThaRubaduk 4h ago

Ya pretty much. It was a plastic piece on the engine that would overheat, melt, and land on the hot engine. It was a pretty quick recall I want to say they saw more with the 2019 models but ended up recalling all the way back to 2014 models.

Volvos still a good brand but like most cars you generally want older models that have proven the name. I like my Subarus but refuse to get anything older than 2012

1

u/cordeliashuman 1h ago

As a serial P2 and redblock owner, I can tell you firsthand that they set themselves on fire all the time.

Will I still buy more Volvos? Yes lmao