A viral image claiming to show Vladimir Putin taking a selfie with BRICS leaders at the September 2026 summit has been identified as AI-generated. Multiple detectors flagged the picture—Hive Moderation at 99.9% and Sightengine at 99%—and Lead Stories found no credible media outlets using the photo as documentary evidence. A Google reverse-image search also turned up no authoritative matches. Contextual factors, including Putin's history of avoiding social media, further support the conclusion that the image is not authentic.
Fact Check: Viral 'Putin BRICS Selfie' Shared by Russian Embassy Was AI-Generated
Lead Stories says: AI Pic
A widely shared image purporting to show Russian President Vladimir Putin taking a selfie with other BRICS leaders at the September 2026 summit is not an authentic photograph, according to multiple verification checks.
Image source: post by @EmbassyofRussia on X.
What Was Posted
On Sept. 13, 2026, the official account of the Russian Embassy in South Africa posted an image on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: #BRICSis a #SUPERPOWER🔥. The embassy account itself was legitimate and linked from the embassy's official website.
Image source: Hive Moderation.
Verification Results
Independent image-analysis tools and newsroom checks all raised strong doubts about the photo's authenticity:
Image source: Sightengine.
Hive Moderation: 99.9% likely the image "contains AI generated or deepfake content."
Sightengine: 99% likelihood the image was generated by AI.
Lead Stories / OpenAI SynthID: Lead Stories submitted the image to OpenAI's verification tooling to search for SynthID (an invisible watermark used by some AI tools) and reported the tool's findings in its coverage.
Reverse Image Search: A Google reverse-image search did not return any credible news organizations that used the picture as documentary coverage of the 2026 BRICS summit.
Contextual Reasons to Doubt the Image
Beyond detector scores, contextual signals further undermine the photo's authenticity. Putin is not known for regularly taking or posting selfies; in 2017 he publicly stated he did not use social media. The image circulated rapidly during the summit, but reputable news outlets did not reproduce it as a genuine summit photograph.
Image source: OpenAI.
About BRICS
BRICS is an international grouping originally formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. By 2026 the group had attracted interest from additional countries, but core membership still centers on those founding members.
Conclusion
The combination of near-certain AI-detection scores from multiple tools, the absence of corroboration from credible news outlets, and contextual indicators led fact-checkers to conclude that the widely shared "Putin BRICS selfie" was AI-generated rather than an authentic summit photo.
Help us improve.
