At least 26 people were killed and several others injured on Tuesday as terrorists opened fire in Kashmir — with tourists from various parts of the country among the victims. Visuals of the horrifying attack have since gone viral on social media platforms with many sharing a particular photo that showed a woman sitting on the ground next to her slain husband. An official BJP handle also chose to share the image — after using AI to revamp it in the viral Studio Ghibli style.
“Faith was asked, not caste… we will remember,” the party wrote in Hindi while sharing the edited image.
Images in the Studio Ghibli style have become something of a viral craze over the past month — with millions asking ChatGPT to generate their own photos in the artform popularised by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. The process to ‘Ghibli-fy’ an image however means that the party had to download the tragic image and upload it with a prompt for AI to edit it according to instructions. The post — coming mere hours after the massacre — had prompted widespread outrage across social media platforms with the BJP Chhattisgarh handle eventually deleting it.
“Making a Ghibli-style AI edit of a terrorist massacre is just sickening. The loss of innocent lives is not aesthetic content. Have a shred of conscience,” wrote one user.
“Wait lemme Ghiblify this image first is a weird thought to have for such an event,” agreed another.
“An AI Ghibli anime edit of a terrorist massacre. Nothing is too low,” wrote a third.
Security was beefed up throughout Kashmir on Wednesday after the attack left a trail of devastation across the otherwise bustling tourist hub. Officials said 24 of the people killed were Indian tourists, one was from Nepal and the final casualty was a local tourist guide. At least 17 others were injured.
(With inputs from agencies)