Verdict: The viral video claiming a cruise ship struck a newly opened Norwegian bridge is false. Visual anomalies — the bridge rippling like rubber, detached trailers, and an unhitched truck — indicate generative-AI manipulation. No credible news outlets reported any such bridge collapse.
Fact Check: Viral Video of Ship Striking a Norwegian Bridge Is Fake — AI Artifacts Reveal the Hoax
Lead Stories says: AI Generated
A viral clip circulating on social media that supposedly shows a cruise ship colliding with a newly opened bridge in Norway is not genuine. No reputable news outlet reported any such mass-casualty incident, and multiple visual artifacts in the footage are consistent with generative-AI manipulation.
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/GPX_Press
Origin Of The Claim
The claim appeared in a post on X (archived here) on December 22, 2025. The post read in part:
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/GPX_Press
"In Norway: A bridge collapsed just 24 hours after its opening when a cruise ship collided with it. Hundreds of cars fell, and the disaster occurred. The number of victims is still unknown."
Why The Video Is Fake
Careful inspection of the clip reveals multiple inconsistencies that point to an AI-generated or heavily manipulated video rather than a real-world event:
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/GPX_Press
- Unrealistic Bridge Motion: At impact the bridge sections bend and ripple like a flexible membrane. Real concrete and steel bridge elements fracture, shear, or collapse — they do not wave like rubber.
- Detached Cargo Trailers: Several cargo trailers are shown lodged against a central divider with no tractors attached. Their placement and the lack of realistic interaction with other traffic are inconsistent with an actual crash scene.
- Unhitched Self-Driving Truck: The footage shows what appears to be an unmanned trailer moving along the leftmost lane with no tractor connected. Such behavior does not match real vehicle dynamics or traffic response during a major collision.
- Absence Of Emergency Response And Media Coverage: A true mass-casualty bridge collapse would generate immediate local and international reporting. Searches of Google News and Yahoo News (archived here) returned no corroborating reports for any such event in Norway.
Verification Steps Taken
To evaluate the claim we checked major news aggregators and searched for eyewitness accounts, official statements from Norwegian authorities, and coverage by established international outlets. No credible sources reported a bridge collapse matching the viral footage.
Image source: Lead Stories screenshot of post at x.com/GPX_Press
Conclusion
Verdict: False. The clip is not evidence of a real bridge collapse in Norway. Visual artifacts strongly suggest the footage was generated or manipulated by AI, and the lack of reporting by credible news organizations confirms there was no such incident.
Advice: Do not share unverified dramatic videos. When you see extraordinary footage, verify using trusted news sources, reverse-image and video searches, and official statements from local authorities.
