This Video of a Robot Playing Table Tennis Is Digitally Manipulated
The Claim
A video shows a robot playing table tennis against another human tennis player.
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Social media users shared a video claiming to feature a robot engaged in a table tennis match against a human tennis player.
One user tweeted, "When AI outmaneuvers us! Gosh, as long as it doesn’t surpass us in 'human' intelligence."
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the widely circulated video and found it to be fake.
After conducting an extensive reverse image search and analyzing snippets from the footage, Misbar's team concluded that the video is digitally altered.
The Video of a Robot Playing Tennis Is Digitally Manipulated
Contrary to claims, the video does not portray an actual robot playing a table tennis match against a human player.
The original footage was digitally manipulated from a table tennis match involving the Slovakian player, Yang Wang.
The video, released in March, features Yang Wang's impressive defensive abilities against his opponent and his skillful point-scoring during the Olympic Esports in Singapore.
Table tennis love, a YouTube channel, uploaded the video in March 2023, under the title, "Magician Wang Yang."
The YouTube channel "Jan Valenta - Table Tennis" uploaded the video on March 24, 2023.
The video’s description reads, “This is an Absolutely INSANE Table Tennis Defense from an outstanding table tennis player Yang Wang who played in the table tennis olympics ! What do you think of this highlight?”
Who Is Yang Wang?
Wang Yang, a skilled Slovak table tennis player with Chinese heritage, was born on September 24, 1990. He is recognized for his defensive prowess and employs the shakehand grip during matches.
Some of Wang Yang's remarkable accomplishments include securing victory in the ETTU Cup during the 2017/2018 season while playing for the Polish club K.S. Dekorglass Dzialdowo and advancing to the 1/8 finals at the 2019 World Table Tennis Championships.
2023 Singapore Smash
The 2023 "Singapore Smash" World Table Tennis Championship took place in Singapore from March 11 to March 19. The tournament was held at the Singapore Sports Center and witnessed the participation of the world's top players in the sport.
Chinese table tennis player Sun Yingsha achieves a hat-trick of titles by emerging victorious in the tournament, which carries a prize of $2 million for the winner.
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