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.
Click here to view an archive.
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.
Click here to view an archive.
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.