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 (archived here) on X on March 3, 2026. It read:
Dubai Airport boom boom 💥
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @SohailAfridl on X.)
Conflict in the Middle East
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, which killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike on his compound in Tehran. Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes against the U.S. and allied targets across the Middle East.
An Iranian strike did damage Dubai International Airport, but there were no reports (archived here) of an aircraft burning. An airport spokesperson said in a statement (archived here):
Dubai Airports confirms that a concourse at Dubai International (DXB) sustained minor damage in an incident, which was quickly contained. Emergency response teams were immediately deployed and are managing the situation in coordination with the relevant authorities. Four staff sustained injuries and received prompt medical attention. Due to contingency plans already in place, most of the terminals were previously cleared of passengers.
Video analysis
The Hive Moderation AI-Generated Content Detection tool also concluded the image was 99.8% "likely to be AI-generated":
(Image source: hivemoderation.com)
