'Quantum invisibility cloak' hoax fools the internet

Amateur footage of a "quantum invisibility cloak" has caused widespread excitement on Chinese social media.

The video shows a man standing in the middle of a bush being enveloped by a transparent sheet. He disappears as the cloth blends into the background entirely.

The one-minute clip has more than 21.4 million views and has been shared by various news outlets across the globe.

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The video was enough to fool China's deputy head of Criminal Investigation Department at the Ministry of Public Security, Chen Shiqu, who shared the footage on his Weibo account and claimed it could be useful in military matters.

"This is a quantum technology-made cloth that is made of transparent material," he wrote.

"It can reflect the light wave around the person who wears it, so it can make the person disappear."

Video producers have since spotted the clip and debunked the hoax.

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One such producer at Quantum Video production company Zhu Zhensong told Liberation Daily the video had likely been edited and filmed with a blue or green plastic cloth.

"Softwares such as Adobe's After Effects Nuke or Blackmagic Fusion can edit the background and blend the objects into it.

"The effect has previously been seen in a lot of action movies."

Source: Newshub