This image, which claims to show one of the airmen rescued by US special forces from Iran, has racked up millions of views after being shared by some major influencers, and even by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The image is AI-generated and features multiple errors.
Multiple weapons experts have disputed a US claim that Iran may have been responsible for a deadly strike on the town of Lamerd on the first day of the Iran war, which killed 21 people.
Weapons experts say a US PrSM missile was likely used in the strike.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Read our investigation into the deadly strike in the Iranian town of Lamerd, which experts say was likely carried out using new US PrSM missiles.
The attack killed 21 people, including four children.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
On the first day of the Iran war, at least two strikes hit a residential block and a sports hall in the town of Lamerd, killing 21 people, including four children.
Our investigation reveals the attack was likely a US strike, carried out with new generation Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).
I hope that if there's one thing that this Iran conflict and the explosion of online misinformation about it has laid bare for most people is the significance of content verification and fact-checking in the digital age.
AI cannot replace human verification, at least not just yet.
You can’t actually destroy highly enriched uranium (HEU). Bombing it doesn’t d anything to it.
Footage published by Iranian media today shows damage to Chehel Sotoon, a 17th century, Safavid-era landmark palace and garden located in the historic centre of Isfahan, after air strikes in its vicinity.
The Persian garden that surrounds the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A newly published video shows that a US Tomahawk missile hit a medical clinic inside an IRGC base and near a primary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab where the authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
New video footage shows a US Tomahawk missile hitting an IRGC facility in Minab, Iran, on Feb 28, showing for the first time that the US struck the area. The footage also shows smoke already rising from the vicinity of the girls’ school, where 175 people were reportedly killed, including children.
BBC Verify has analysed verified videos and satellite imagery that show severe damage to a hospital, sporting centres, a UNESCO world heritage site and two schools since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on Saturday, as the number of civilian casualties grows.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The school building is located located immediately to the north-east of the IRGC base.
Satellite imagery from 2013 appears to show the school building was part of the same compound, before a wall is seen in 2016 separating it from the base.
Two videos filmed in the immediate aftermath of the attack show multiple plumes of smoke within an IRGC base and medical clinic near the school, as well as the school's top floor.
The location of smoke plumes in videos correspond to visible damage in satellite imagery.
Satellite imagery by Planet Labs shows at least five buildings with visible craters and black scorch marks in the area.
"[It] seems it was intentional to hit the area," a satellite analyst said.
BBC Verify has pieced together verified videos, satellite imagery and expert views after a deadly attack near a primary school in Minab, souther Iran, which suggest the area was hit more than once "by multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The Iran/US/Israel war might have already broken the record for the highest number of AI-generated videos and images that have gone viral during a conflict.
Interestingly, I said the exact same thing right after the 12-day war in June.
Welcome to our brave new world of AI misinformation.
This image, viewed millions of times on Instagram, X and Telegram, purports to show an attack on a US base near Erbil International Airport.
The image is AI-generated. Google's SynthID finds watermarks in the image indicating it was made with Google AI.
This video, viewed 4 million times, claims to show multiple fires in the centre of Tel Aviv tonight caused by Iranian missiles.
This video is old and unrelated to the war. It shows celebrations by Algerian footbal fans in 2020.
This video, viewed half a million times, claims to show Iranian drone strikes on tower blocks in Bahrain.
But it's AI-generated and fake. Apart form figures magically disappearing in the clip, the fire in the tower on the left somehow stops on its own.
This video, viewed 9.5 million times, claims to show a US F15 fighter jet being shot down by an Iranian missile in Kuwait.
The video is not real. It's from a military video game.
This image, which purports to show the US embassy in Riyadh on fire after widely reported drone strikes, is AI-generated and fake.
Google's SynthID tool detects watermarks in the image that indicate it was made with Google AI.
https://www.tiktok.com/@ah_y2213/video/7610066316413734151
THREAD: Misinformation in the Iran/US/Israel war - 3 March
This viral video claims to show the aftermath of a reported drone attack on the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, tonight.
But the video was posted last week to TikTok, and shows an unrelated car accident in Riyadh.
Here's the moment a tearful host on Iranian state TV confirms that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US and Israeli air strikes.
The Iranian government has announced 40 days of mourning and a week-long holiday to mark Khamenei's death.
BREAKING: Iranian state TV has confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Israeli and US air strikes today.
A tearful host on state TV's channel one announced the news live on air.
A plume of smoke can be seen on Shriati Street in Tehran, a close distance from Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. The building in the background is Saman Tower.
Location: 35.749338, 51.448950
Smoke rises near Jomhouri Avenue in central Tehran following US and Israeli strikes on Iran. People can be heard asking each other if the Supreme Leader's office was targeted.
Location: 35.696078, 51.391826
THREAD: Verified videos of the Iran/US/Israel war - 28 February
Smoke rises in the air near Tehran's City Theatre metro station following air strikes by the US and Israel.
Location: 35.7011766,51.4054869
A Bellingcat investigation reveals child soldiers in Sudan’s civil war have become viral figures on TikTok. Videos attracting millions of views show the children with senior military officials, celebrating battlefield victories and delivering violent threats. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/02...
Anti-government student protests spread to more Iranian universities www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
See the thread quoted below for some how-we-know and how-you-can-too examples.
A fresh wave of anti-government protests by students at several Iranian universities has spread to more campuses on Monday.
The BBC has verified footage of protests at eight universities in Tehran, as well as universities in Mashhad and Isfahan.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A large part of what BBC Verify and Persian do is support other News output.
This weekend has seen a fresh wave of protest in Iran, centred on the universities of Tehran.
Working with @paulybrown.bsky.social, @emmapengelly.bsky.social and @shayan86.bsky.social.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
