Marine

Does a video of a burning ship actually show an oil tanker hit in the Strait of Hormuz on March 27, 2026? No, that's not true: No credible news organizations reported an oil tanker being hit in the Strait of Hormuz on that day. The video showed signs of AI generation. The claim appeared in a post (archived here, here…

Does a real video show Tomahawk missiles streaking past a merchant ship "on their way to targets in Iran"? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. The fake video shows missiles passing dangerously close to the ship and glitchy text on its containers. Although this video is fake, there is real footage that was filmed from a container ship…

Does a real video show a large container ship listing and capsizing in front of bystanders on another craft? No, that's not true: This video is AI-generated. It was originally posted by an account that describes itself as posting "AI Videos Daily." The containers shown in the video do not shift realistically as the ship begins to roll, and the…

Did a U.S. military commander tell troops that President Trump was "anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon"? Here's what we know so far: The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) said on its website that it has received hundreds of similar complaints. Asked to provide the original email or identifying information, the organization declined,…

Did President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan quietly drive themselves to a Virginia nursing home to serve breakfast to elderly residents on Christmas Day 1983? No, that's not true: This is a completely made-up story that is contradicted by historical records, including President Reagan's personal diary entry for that date. It was published by a Pakistani-based spam factory…

Did Secret Service Agent Larry Cockell document that Bill Clinton stopped to speak with a homeless Desert Storm veteran named Marcus Williams outside the Kennedy Center in 1997? No, that's not true: This sentimental story is fictional clickbait. The story's many details make it sound believable but they do not check out. There is no record of this 1997 interaction…

Do these viral videos show the U.S. seizing oil tankers linked to Venezuela on January 7, 2026? No, that's not true: Those clips are unrelated to the U.S. pursuit of the tankers "Bella-1" and "Sophia". The clips can be found in posts that predate the capture of the ships. The claim appeared in a post (archived here and here) on…

Does actual drone footage show a giant "eclipse Octopus" in the Gulf of America (sometimes also called the Gulf of Mexico)? No, that's not true: The video originated on a TikTok channel with a disclaimer that says it publishes videos made with artificial intelligence tools and which posted many other faked animal videos. The "octopus" in the video also had…

Does a real photo show a crisis actor laughing while a makeup artist puts fake blood on his face before he pretended to be a victim of the Bondi Beach terror attack? No, that's not true: This is an AI-generated image made to support a false flag narrative about the Bondi Beach terror attack. The picture is based on the…

Did Norway launch an autonomous ship, the BlueHarvester, which can clean plastic from the ocean and then turn that plastic into fuel it uses to power itself? No, that's not true: Images of the BlueHarvester are AI-generated. A search of the Norwegian Maritime Authority database for BlueHarvester finds there is no record of a vessel by this name. The description…