Elderly Couple Duped by AI Cable Car Video

Malaysians travel 300km only to discover nonexistent attraction

A Malaysian couple’s dream trip turned sour after they journeyed over 300 kilometers from **Kuala Lumpur** to **Perak**, only to discover that the cable car attraction they sought was a figment of artificial intelligence.

Hotel Worker Shares the Sad Story

A hotel employee, who was only identified as the hotel worker, recounted the incident on Threads on June 30th, expressing her astonishment at the couple’s predicament.

According to the hotel worker, “(The couple) came to check into the hotel, and they asked if I’ve ridden the cable car at Kuak upstream. I thought they were just kidding,” Kuak Hulu is a kampung in **Gerik**, **Silver**.

The staff member realized the couple’s sincerity when the woman explained they had traveled all the way from **Kuala Lumpur** to experience the ride.

Deepfake Deception

The fabricated attraction was showcased in a nearly three-minute AI-generated video featuring a reporter from “People’s TV” introducing the “Kuak Skyride” and interviewing supposed tourists, including some from **Thailand**. The video depicted scenes of people lining up at the ticket counter.

Scenes showed the cable car traversing lush greenery and a stream, even passing by grazing deer, before halting near **Baling Mountain** in the neighboring **Kedah** state.

A bizarre glitch appeared at the end of the video when an elderly woman doing a handstand morphed into a misshapen blob before returning to normal.

“I was so shocked… I explained to the auntie that the video was (made by AI) and not real,” the hotel worker stated.

The woman’s reaction: “Why would anyone want to lie? There was even a reporter (in the video).” She insisted she saw no disclaimers and wanted to sue the “TV Rakyat” journalist.

The worker tried to explain again that the journalist was also fake.

Too embarrassed to consult their children, the couple proceeded with the journey.

Call for Vigilance

The hotel worker pleaded with people to verify travel destinations for their parents.

The incident quickly went viral. According to Statista, deepfake videos are becoming increasingly common, with over 140,000 detected online in 2023 alone (Statista).

Police Response

Local authorities urged the public to exercise caution regarding viral content and confirm the authenticity of online videos.

**Deputy Superintendent Ahmad Salimi Md Ali**, acting Baling police chief, told the **New Straits Times (NST)** on July 3 that they hadn’t received complaints but confirmed the cable car’s non-existence.

**Ahmad Salimi Md Ali** stated preliminary checks verified the video as fabricated.

“We advise the public not to fall for viral content without confirmation. In this era of AI-generated media, misleading materials can spread easily and cause confusion,” he said.