{"id":310910,"date":"2026-03-09T22:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=310910"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:43:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:13:17","slug":"documenting-the-war-or-fabricating-it-ai-generated-visuals-on-social-media-blur-the-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/documenting-the-war-or-fabricating-it-ai-generated-visuals-on-social-media-blur-the-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Documenting the war or fabricating it? AI-generated visuals on social media blur the line as Iran conflict escalates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, social media has been flooded with unverified images and videos claiming to show scenes from the war. Many of these visuals went into news reports by prominent media outlets.<\/p>\n

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a joint assault on Iran, targeting key military installations. The strikes reportedly killed Iran\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several senior figures of the ruling establishment. The attacks also caused civilian casualties, including children. In retaliation, Iran carried out strikes on US military bases across Central and West Asia, including in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. Late on March 7, four oil depots in and around Tehran were hit killing at least six people. The situation remains fluid and highly volatile at the time of writing, with developments continuing to unfold.<\/p>\n

Here are fact checks of five misrepresented images or videos related to the war which continue to spread widely online.<\/p>\n

Claim I<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A video claiming to show multiple Iranian missiles striking Tel Aviv<\/span><\/span> is going viral on social media. The footage shows plumes of smoke rising in a clear blue sky as several projectiles leave behind white smoke trails, forming distinct patterns over what appears to be a residential area.<\/p>\n

The Times of India<\/span><\/span><\/a> also featured the visuals in a video report. While the outlet cited footage shared by Iranian state broadcaster Press TV<\/span><\/span>, it noted that the authenticity of the video remains unverified.<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rmCHs-GEdr0?si=94pvMJRJyrjcl_N2]<\/p>\n

An X user, Abdulruhman Ismail (<\/span>@a_abdulruhman<\/span>), who claims to be a photojournalist, shared the video<\/a> on March 3, 2026, as actual footage of Tel Aviv. The post garnered around 3.8M views.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another Indian media outlet, Live Hindustan<\/a>, shared a video report including this video on YouTube, claiming it to be true without citing any source.<\/p>\n

News outlet TV9 Bharatvarsh (@TV9Bharatvarsh) also amplified the video in a report, but later deleted the X post.\u00a0<\/span>The post has been deleted now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fact Check<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Upon closely examining the video, we noticed several inconsistencies that are typically found in artificially generated content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First, the parked vehicles in the video display irregular shapes and distorted proportions. Similarly, the rooftop solar panels appear to be in an inconsistent, distorted form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pattern of the plumes arising from the supposed attacks was unnatural and unrealtistic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The missiles in the video appear to detonate before making contact with any visible surface or structure, and no debris scattering could be seen in the video. These further raise questions about the authenticity of the video.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During our investigation, we found the original post on Instagram, posted by Paralelverse_net on March 3, 2026. In the caption, it is explicitly mentioned that the video is \u201ccreated with AI\u201d and intended for \u201centertainment purposes only\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A post shared by ParallelVerse (@paralelverse_net)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So, to sum up, the video of multiple missiles striking on what appears to be a residential area in Tel Aviv, Israel, is not authentic. It is a synthetically generated video.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Claim II<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A 10-second video filmed from a balcony shows the night sky at the moment a projectile strikes, triggering a massive explosion and thick clouds of smoke. The footage is going viral on social media with claims that it shows real scenes from Tel Aviv<\/span><\/span> after being hit by supersonic Iranian missiles.<\/p>\n

An X user, Ahmed Wael Hamdan<\/span><\/span><\/a>, who claims to be a journalist from Gaza, shared the clip on the platform suggesting it depicts authentic events in Tel Aviv. The post garnered 1.4 million views.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din, a journalist from Pakistan, also shared the purported video, claiming it to be a real-time visual from Tel Aviv on March 4, 2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tel Aviv right now pic.twitter.com\/jg3ZxXB36u<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Makhdoom Shahab-ud-Din (@ShahabSpeaks) March 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The post amassed approximately 50,000 views.<\/span><\/p>\n

Several social media users have shared the same video with similar claims. A few of them are shown in the gallery below.<\/span><\/p>\n