AI-Generated Images Falsely Linked To US-Israel-Iran Conflict
BOOM found that the images are synthetic, and analysis using AI detection tools indicated that they were artificially generated.
Two images shared on social media falsely claiming to show scenes from the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict, are fake and AI-generated. BOOM found that the visuals are synthetically created.
The Claim:
The images are being shared on social media with different claims linking it to the ongoing US-Israel-Iran strikes and counter strikes.
The first image is being shared with the claim that it shows an Iraqi resistance attack on a US base in Erbil, showing a massive explosion and thick smoke rising.
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The second image is being linked to the mass funeral of school girls allegedly killed in a US-Israel strike on a school in Iran. The photo shows rows of shrouded bodies with framed photographs placed on top.
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What We Found:
Photo 1:
We ran the first photo by Hive Moderation and by Google Gemini.
Hive Moderation gave it a 88.4% likely to be AI-generated.
Google Gemini confirmed that the image was created using its tools, identifying the presence of a SynthID watermark embedded in the visual.
The US's Erbil base is currently on high alert following multiple drone and missile strikes launched by Iran and pro-Iran militias in Iraq.
Photo 2:
We ran the viral image by Hive Moderation which gave it a 100% likely to be AI-generated.
Additionally in the photo we can clearly see faces of two Muslim women distorted and clubbed closely which is a give away that it is likely AI-generated. We can also see two separate photo frames showing the same schoolgirl image on top different bodies.
More than 160 people, mostly girls were killed when a primary girls' school was hit in the city of Minab in Iran on Saturday, allegedly during the US and Israeli strikes targeting the country.
