Nikon photography contest winner loses title after scientists spot signs of AI

Dr. Ning Xu from Tsinghua University was stripped of his title as winner of Nikon's prestigious Small World in Motion photography contest after scientists identified signs of AI manipulation in his microscopy video, including abnormal cell structures and a detected AI watermark. Though Xu claimed he only used AI for post-processing to enhance visibility of microscopic features, the video contained irregularities inconsistent with actual cellular biology, and Nikon's investigation confirmed he violated competition rules. The prize was subsequently awarded to Vietnam's Nguyen Nam Nhat, and Nikon announced it will revise its rules and evaluation procedures.