A viral image that appears to show the funeral of Iranian schoolchildren isn't real.
It’s true that a missile struck a school in the region, but this image is fake. There are several signs that it was made with AI.
After a major fire broke out in Glasgow yesterday, X users asked its AI chatbot Grok to verify imagery from the scene.
But it misidentified genuine footage as firefighters tackling a blaze in Tel Aviv - and even claimed a real photo of the fire had been made with AI.
Videos shared online falsely claim Keir Starmer banned New York mayor Zohran Mamdani from the UK, after Mr Mamdani supposedly said the UK had “lost its moral compass” at an event they both attended.
But no such event happened, and he hasn’t been banned.
In the last week we’ve seen a surge of Middle East misinformation on social media, especially AI images and miscaptioned videos. We’ve fact checked 10 viral posts, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s what we’ve seen and what to watch out for 👇
The government has promised to deliver “higher living standards” in the UK by the end of the Parliament.
We’re now rating this pledge as ‘appears off track’, as RHDI per head has decreased since Labour took office.
On BBC Breakfast this morning Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy claimed Cyprus is “a NATO country”. It isn’t.
A video of a burning high-rise is being shared with false claims it shows a “CIA headquarters” in Dubai after an Iranian strike.
In reality, the footage is from an apartment fire in Sharjah, in the UAE, in October 2015.
A video shared online with claims it shows an Iranian missile attack on Dubai actually dates back to at least 2024, before strikes began on the UAE.
Following Tuesday’s #SpringStatement, we’ve updated our Government Tracker, where we’re still rating Labour’s promise that its fiscal rules are “non-negotiable” as ‘appears on track’.
A viral video claiming to show a fire at the US embassy in Saudi Arabia after drone strikes is misleading.
A “limited fire” did occur on March 3, but the clip being shared predates the outbreak of the latest conflict in the Middle East.
A picture shared hundreds of times online claims to show the USS Abraham Lincoln on fire after being struck by Iranian ballistic missiles.
But this image isn’t real. It was made using Google AI tools.
At this week’s Prime Minister's Questions, Kemi Badenoch claimed Type 45 destroyers “cannot take out incoming missiles”.
In fact, they can. The Ministry of Defence says their primary role is air defence, including against missiles.
In the #SpringStatement, Rachel Reeves said “inflation has fallen”, but Sir Mel Stride said it was “up”.
Who’s right (or wrong) depends on the time you’re looking at, because inflation is higher than when Labour came to power, but has fallen recently.
A video showing passengers evacuating an aircraft has been shared with claims that a plane was targeted at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport.
The clip actually shows the aftermath of an aborted takeoff in Denver last year.
Posts claiming a viral video shows an American airbase on fire in Saudi Arabia following an Iranian missile attack are misleading.
The video actually shows July 2024 footage of a port in Yemen following Israeli airstrikes.
Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride claimed the UK’s youth unemployment is “the highest in Europe”.
This isn’t correct. The UK’s youth unemployment rate is higher than the EU average, but some European countries have higher rates. #SpringStatement
Labour’s 2024 manifesto promised to double the number of MRI and CT scanners.
NHS England figures show the number of these scanners increased by 5% between March 2024 and March 2025—so there’s a long way to go.
Our Government Tracker has more 👇
An image appearing to show the body of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei buried in rubble after US-Israeli strikes on Iran is fake.
The picture has a SynthID watermark, meaning Google’s AI tools were used to create or alter it.
A false claim that the home secretary took part in a minute’s silence to mark the death of Ayatollah Khamenei has been spreading on social media.
The Home Office has confirmed this is not true. A picture shared with the claims is over a year old.
If you’ve seen something you’d like us to fact check, please get in touch. Drop us a message or reach out to us here: fullfact.org/about/contact/
You can also read our toolkit for tips on how to navigate and challenge misinformation: fullfact.org/toolkit/ (3/3)
And we’ve concluded that an image circulating online showing the Burj Khalifa on fire is fake — it was created or altered using AI. (2/3)
We're seeing a number of videos and claims circulating online amidst the conflict in the Middle East, and we’re beginning to review them. We've fact checked a miscaptioned video shared on social media which claimed to show explosions in Tel Aviv. (1/3)
We’re fact checking misleading images and videos relating to the conflict in the Middle East.
An image supposedly showing Dubai’s Burj Khalifa engulfed in flames is fake.
Social media posts have claimed a video shows explosions in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, with some saying it’s an Iranian missile attack.
But the footage is unrelated to the current Middle East conflict. It actually shows explosions in China in 2015.
A picture appearing to show Peter Mandelson in handcuffs being led down a corridor by uniformed police officers has been shared online.
But the image is fake, and almost certainly AI-generated.
Reports of so-called ‘family voting’ have caused controversy following yesterday’s by-election in Gorton and Denton.
But what is family voting? And what do we know about the reports?
At #PMQs this week Kemi Badenoch claimed “youth unemployment is at its highest ever”.
This isn’t correct for either the unemployment rate or the number of unemployed 16-24 year olds, according to ONS data.
Videos styled as news reports claiming that Prince William has challenged Sadiq Khan over London’s “priorities” have been shared widely online.
But these videos aren’t genuine, and the Prince of Wales never made these comments.
