Does a viral photo show the damage from an airstrike against an early warning radar system in Qatar? No, that's not true: This picture is fake and does not show the radar system in question. There are many differences between the fake image and the real facility visible on satellite images. The fake image appeared in a post (archived here)…
Did Variety report that Ian Miles Cheong was killed by an Iranian missile in Dubai? No, that's not true: Only one story on the Variety website mentions Cheong, and it was published five months before the Iranian strikes on the city in the United Arab Emirates. Cheong also posted a video of himself walking around the Dubai Mall on March…
Is this picture showing the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia on fire after a drone attack real? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the image 99.7% likely to be AI-generated. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said there was "limited fire and minor material damage to the building" after two drones hit the embassy. The claim appeared in…
Does a viral video show soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo leaving a resort in Dubai after an Iranian missile hit his car in March 2026? No, that's not true: The clip predates the most recent escalation in the Middle East. The original video was posted in January 2026, showing him leaving the Bvlgari resort two months before the conflict began in…
Is this a real video of a burning plane and airport terminal in Dubai? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the video as 99.8% likely to be AI-generated. Dubai International Airport did sustain "minor damage" following an Iranian strike, an airport official said, but the fake video does not show it. The claim appeared in a post…
Does a viral clip prove that Iran sank the American aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" involved in the military operation in the region? No, that's not true: The U.S. military denied the rumors twice. No credible media organizations reported the purported news and there were no higher quality versions of the clip or different angles available. The claim appeared in a…
Is a video showing the Burj Khalifa skyscraper on fire amid the U.S. attack on Iran real? No, that's not true: An online detection tool rated the image 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. There were explosions due to retaliation from Iran in the United Arab Emirates near the skyscraper in Dubai, but the building itself was not hit or on…
Do real photos show celebrities like Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, and Barry Manilow posed in front of their $80 million private jets? No, that's not true: A network of fake fan pages are publishing nearly identical copy/paste clickbait stories. The posts have AI-generated images of the celebrities posed with private jets. While some celebrities do own private jets, the made…
Is a video of coffins arriving in the US showing soldiers that were killed in an attack in Kuwait in March 2026 during the U.S. attack on Iran? No, that's not true: The video is from December 2025. It shows the dignified transfer of two National Guard members and a U.S. civilian interpreter who were killed in Syria. The claim…
Does a video show an American soldier named Bishop in "the Gulf" crying because his shattered phone screen prevents him from seeing his daughter's face? No, that's not true: The clip is AI-generated and comes from a social media page known for posting fake videos. It contains several AI "hallucinations" and red flags typical of AI-generated content, such as distorted…
Does a video show women in Iran removing burqas and then burning pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he died in U.S.-Israeli strikes in February 2026? No, that's not true: The clip being shared does not show people in Iran after recent strikes. It instead shows a demonstration in Paris from January 2026, when a group of activists…
Did Neil Diamond, Eminem, Coco Gauff, or any of a long list of celebrities donate $5 million to provide emergency relief and medical aid following the tragic elementary school strike in southern Iran? No, that's not true: The false claim that at least 20 sports, entertainment and political celebs made such contributions began spreading in Facebook posts hours after the…
Does a video show the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln burning in the Red Sea after being hit by Iranian missiles in 2026? No, that's not true: The video first appeared online on June 23, 2025, in a post making a similar false claim during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel happening at that time. It appears to have…
Is this a real image released by Iran of Supreme Leader Khamenei's body being pulled from under rubble by rescue workers? No, that's not true: According to Google's Gemini tool the image contains a SynthID watermark indicating it was generated in whole or in part using AI. The image in question did not appear on any Iranian websites according to…
Did Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei address the world, proving that he is still alive? No, that's not true: The video circulating on social media is from a speech by Khamenei broadcast more than two weeks earlier on Feb. 11, 2026. He died on Feb. 28, 2026, in an airstrike targeting his compound in Tehran, according to Iranian state…
Does a viral image accurately depict damage to a U.S. installation in Bahrain after a drone or other strike? No, that's not true: Though there were news reports of several strikes in the area, the viral before/after image contains several inconsistencies. The image showing damage to a white dome and other buildings appears to show several extra structures that were…
Does a video show U.S. fighter jets in a real dogfight over Iran in the Feb. 28, 2026, conflict? No, that's not true: The clip from a video game was posted on a U.S. Army spoof account two days ahead of the conflict and has been circulating on social media since at least May 2025. It was originally purported to…
Does a video of a fire recorded from a balcony in Tel Aviv show the aftermath of a missile attack on Israel on February 28, 2026? No, that's not true: The video was shared on social media on October 26, 2024, and there was no claim that a missile started the fire or that the building was used to store…
Is Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei not mentioned in the "Epstein Files" as a viral social media post said? No, that's not true: A search of the files released by the Department of Justice for his name brought up 196 results. Most of the mentions appear to be from news headlines in emails sent or received by Epstein. The claim…
Were there any official reports about former National Security Advisor John Bolton dying in the wake of airstrikes on Iran late February 2026? No, that's not true: The claim was only made in a likely satirical social media post. There were no news reports about his passing and no mention of it on the site of his PAC or on…
