Iran

Does a video show an Iranian drone used during the country's attack against Israel stuck in power lines in Iraq? No, that's not true: The video, posted online as early as February 2024, predates Iran's April 13, 2024, attack against Israel. The video was most likely taken in Syria. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X…

Does a video show missiles being launched by Yemen at Israel on April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The video has been on the internet as far back as 2015 and on YouTube since 2016. The original video did not have the flag of Iran in the top right hand corner. The video had nothing to do with the…

Does footage on social media show Palestinians celebrating at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem after they heard news of Iran's mid-April 2024 aerial attack on Israel? No, that's not true: The video was shot days before Iran launched drones and missiles against Israel. The video was recorded during the last Friday of Ramadan, according to a BBC reporter. Lead Stories…

Did Russia's President Vladimir Putin publicly announce after Iran's aerial strike on Israel that Moscow will back Iran if the U.S. attacks "Iran's soil" in U.S. support of Israel? No, that's not true: As of this writing, Putin has not made this public statement or any others directly referring to the Iranian attack or potential further developments in the region.…

Does footage on social media show Israelis panicking and running after Iranian missiles and drones hit Israel's airspace April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The footage had already been on social media for a week when Iran attacked Israel. It shows a crowd running on April 6, 2024 toward the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where former…

Does a video on social media document a barrage of hundreds of cruise missiles and drones launched into Israel by Iran on April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The video, found in a variety of posts, appeared on social media several years before Iran's 2024 attack on Israel. Lead Stories found examples of the clip dating back to 2022…

Did a viral post share authentic visuals of Iranian drones in the sky over Israel during Iran's aerial attack of April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: Those images and clips had been circulating on social media for at least half a day before the attack. At the time they were used with reports about an unrelated event involving flares…

Does a photo on social media show a retaliatory strike on the Iranian capital of Tehran, following Iran's drone attack on Israel on April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The picture is not from 2024. It is a photo from the Getty Images catalogue, taken in June 2021 during an oil refinery fire south of Tehran. The claim appeared…

Did Iran attack the Navy vessel USS Liberty off the coast of Bahrain in April 2024? No, that's not true: The U.S. Navy does not have an active ship by that name at the time of writing, and there were no reports of any other U.S. vessel being hit by Iranian missiles as of April 2, 2024, the day the…

Does a video show a U.S. "bunker buster" missile strike in Yemen against an Iranian facility, as claimed in a Facebook post? No, that's not true: The video is a copy of YouTube video of gameplay from "Arma 3," a tactical shooter video game. Since the game is highly customizable, it has frequently been used to spread online misinformation. The…