Crashed B-2 bomber, burning Israeli planes and more: AI fake photos take over amid Israel-Iran war

As the Iran-Israel war continues to trigger panic in the world, what's adding fuel to the fire is AI-generated content. It is the same story as the India-Pakistan war a few weeks back, when social media was flooded with photos and videos showing missiles being fired and planes being downed. Except then, old images and footage from video games were being pushed as real. This time, AI is being used to create entire narratives, which are then thwarted as being birthed by Artificial Intelligence. Experts say that several pro-Israeli and pro-Iran accounts are spreading disinformation online, trying to depict one country overpowering another. There are fake clips depicting the aftermath of Iranian attacks on Israeli sites. A video of US B-2 bombers flying over the Strait of Hormuz has been viewed over two million times on TikTok. It has been labelled as fake and is from a video game footage created with a simulator.

A photo of the American B-2 Bomber fallen on the ground in Iran started doing the rounds on social media over the weekend. It shows the humongous batman-wing-like aircraft lying flat after an apparent crash or after being shot down. However, none of it is true. The photo of the bomber has been generated using AI. Telltale signs include a man merging with the background, BBC reported.

The latest seems to be the video of the notorious Evin jail in Iran being bombed. A CCTV footage of an explosion at the prison gate is circulating on social media. The Iranian media first ran it, and it was shared by the Israeli foreign minister on social media. While BBC verified the video, saying it ran normal geolocation and recency checks, later it flagged the video as suspicious and likely AI-generated.

One of the fake photos shows the aftermath at an airport in Israel following Iranian missile strikes. Multiple aeroplanes can be seen destroyed. However, D-Intent Data, a fake news detection centre and a news data research organisation, has stated that the photo is fake. It states that the video is not authentic. "It was originally posted on Instagram and YouTube by the account "3amelyon," which regularly shares AI-generated content. Visual analysis and AI detection tools also confirm," the group stated.

Another photo shows a B-2 bomber blown up on the ground with the Iranian flag flying next to it and three officers posing. However, the photo is clearly AI-generated. The size of the aircraft is a clear giveaway, and the B-2 bomber is way too big to what can be seen in the photo. Fact-check photos show just how big the original B-2 bomber is as compared to what the fake photo shows.

Pro-Israel accounts have been sharing old videos of people protesting in the streets of Iran, falsely claiming that they are fresh and show the anger and dissent against the government, claiming that they are supporting Israel's military campaign. They are apparently chanting "we love Israel". There are also claims that several Israeli F-35 fighter jets, made in the US, were destroyed by Iran. One of the photos shows it down on the ground. But the sand around it doesn't seem to be impacted by the crash, and the people and vehicles around it are of the same size, proving it is a fake.

Another photo shows dozens of missiles falling on the city of Tel Aviv. It has garnered over 27 million views. According to BBC Verify, the top 3 most viewed fake videos have garnered over 100 million views across multiple platforms. Experts believe the accounts, which seem unrelated to any of the countries, are leveraging the war to increase their followers and views. BBC reported that a pro-Iranian account called Daily Iran Military, with no links to the Iranian government, has seen a massive jump in its followers on X - from over 700,000 on 13 June to 1.4 million by 19 June.