AI-generated image falsely shared as Iranian strike on US military facility in the Gulf

In July 2026, a Facebook post in Amharic falsely claimed that Iran had destroyed a major US military command centre in the Gulf. The post included an image of a skyscraper engulfed in flames, depicting the facility as a primary hub for American operations near the Strait of Hormuz. AFP Fact Check conducted a reverse image search and identified the image as a screenshot from an AI-generated video published on Instagram on April 18, 2025, by an account called 'stormpixelwallpapers'. The original video was captioned as showing the aftermath of a massive gas explosion and included a disclaimer stating it contained AI-generated content. Visual analysis revealed inconsistencies such as an inconsistent window and structural grid, perspective anomalies, unnatural smoke patterns, and a glossy sheen typical of AI-generated visuals. Multiple AI detection tools corroborated these findings, with Hive Moderation suggesting a 99 percent probability that the image is AI-generated.

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