Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A video emerged showing a man disappears in front of the camera as he holds a transparent-looking table cloth in front of him. The video shows the 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 head of Criminal Investigation Department at the Ministry of Public Security, Chen Shiqu, who shared the footage on his Weibo account and stated that the 'invisibility cloak' can be useful in military. He further states that 'This is a quantum technology-made cloth that is made of transparent material, it can reflect the light wave around the person who wears it so it can make the person disappear'.
The convincing video and the seemingly authoritative source led many to believe that this was an authentic invisibility cloak.
Despite these claims, the actual footage contains several clues that this invisibility cloak is nothing more than the result of video editing. Firstly, we can see the plant “double” as the real plant (which was knocked by the man’s leg) moves but the digital plant remains in place. A few moments later the plant can be seen shaking. But as the invisibility cloak covers it up, it instantaneously becomes motionless again. The motion of the plant resumes once it is no longer hidden behind the invisibility cloak.
Another indication that this video was digitally edited can be spotted just when the man’s fingers disappears despite being in front of the invisibility cloak.
The filmmaker shot footage of the background and then projected that image onto the green sheet in order to make it appear as if the man disappeared behind an invisibility cloak.
Video producers have since spotted the clip and exposed/debunked the hoax.
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 object into it. The effect has previously seen in a lot of action movies,' said Zhu
A video emerged showing a man disappears in front of the camera as he holds a transparent-looking table cloth in front of him. The video shows the 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 head of Criminal Investigation Department at the Ministry of Public Security, Chen Shiqu, who shared the footage on his Weibo account and stated that the 'invisibility cloak' can be useful in military. He further states that 'This is a quantum technology-made cloth that is made of transparent material, it can reflect the light wave around the person who wears it so it can make the person disappear'.
The convincing video and the seemingly authoritative source led many to believe that this was an authentic invisibility cloak.
Despite these claims, the actual footage contains several clues that this invisibility cloak is nothing more than the result of video editing. Firstly, we can see the plant “double” as the real plant (which was knocked by the man’s leg) moves but the digital plant remains in place. A few moments later the plant can be seen shaking. But as the invisibility cloak covers it up, it instantaneously becomes motionless again. The motion of the plant resumes once it is no longer hidden behind the invisibility cloak.
Another indication that this video was digitally edited can be spotted just when the man’s fingers disappears despite being in front of the invisibility cloak.
The filmmaker shot footage of the background and then projected that image onto the green sheet in order to make it appear as if the man disappeared behind an invisibility cloak.
Video producers have since spotted the clip and exposed/debunked the hoax.
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 object into it. The effect has previously seen in a lot of action movies,' said Zhu
