Popular hiking page accused of using AI-generated content

A Facebook page called "Meeting You on the Mountain Trail" has rapidly become a sensation in the hiking community, attracting over 67,000 followers in under a month with its shared stories and photos.

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It's really quite terrifying. Anyone can create this kind of thing. If someone really wants to commit fraud or disrupt social order, it doesn't seem difficult.

However, hiking experts and artists have raised alarms, alleging that all the content on the page is AI-generated. Cai Rixing, a hiking expert, expressed fear, noting how difficult it is to distinguish the AI-generated images from real ones. He worries about the potential for misuse, such as spreading misinformation or engaging in fraud.

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I feel scared because I can barely spot the flaws in the photos anymore. It's that exaggerated now; AI is taking over from real people.

Nature artist Chen Yiming criticized the ease with which AI can create such content, stating it's "terrifying" and that anyone could potentially create deceptive material. He pointed out that the page has been consistently producing multiple posts daily for several weeks, successfully attracting engagement from unsuspecting users.

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Every post has real stories, real people, or real situations behind it. But to protect the individuals, I will make changes. Names, ages, occupations, relationships with companions, sometimes even locations are changed.

The administrator of the page, a woman who claims the stories are real, admitted to using AI tools for "organizing information, refining sentences, and checking structure." She also stated that AI image tools are used to obscure faces or recreate scenes when original photos are inconvenient to share. However, she insists that each post is based on real events and people, with details like names, ages, and locations sometimes altered to protect privacy.

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I use AI tools to organize information, refine sentences, and check structure. Sometimes, to hide the person's face or recreate a scene where the original photo cannot be publicly shared, I also use image tools.