Searching in English, the results for #beijingflood on YouTube Shorts revealed multiple AI-generated thumbnails, one of which surpassed 18 million views.
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By comparison, Chinese social media platforms, including Baidu’s Haokan Video, Weibo and Douyin appeared to display very few AI-generated videos. Instead, the vast majority appeared to be genuine posts documenting the real-world impact of the floods.
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In northeast Beijing, the highest death toll was recorded in the town of Taishitun. Thirty-one of the confirmed fatalities were from an elderly care home situated near the banks of the Qingshui River, which runs through the town.
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Across Hebei Province, which neighbours Beijing, agricultural land was heavily affected. In Jiuying Village, more than 1,300 hectares of farmland, much of it low-lying cornfields, was submerged, according to Reuters.
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