Amidst the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, a video titled “Iran blows up US military base in Qatar, video surfaces” is circulating on social media. The same video has also been broadcast by certain media outlets.
Watch the video as broadcast by the media outlet Kalbela on Facebook and YouTube.
See the same video on Facebook here.
Fact-check
An investigation by the Rumor Scanner team reveals that the circulated video claiming an Iranian attack on a US base in Qatar is not authentic. In fact, this fabricated video was created using artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
An inquiry into the matter found no credible media reports or reliable sources to substantiate the claim.
A closer observation of the viral video reveals anomalies in its visual elements, which are typical hallmarks of AI-generated content. For instance, the edges of the US flag in the background are distorted, and it does not move naturally. Furthermore, the light and shadow do not change significantly during the explosion, which is visually inconsistent with a real-life event. The US-based fact-checking organization Lead Stories reports that audio experts noted the sound is unusually clear and ‘crisp’ for a recording captured from such a distance during a massive explosion. Typically, a microphone would experience ‘clipping’ or significant distortion under such extreme audio conditions.
To further verify whether the video was AI-generated, Rumor Scanner analyzed it using Google’s specialized detection technology, ‘SynthID’, which provided strong evidence indicating it was created with the assistance of AI technology.
Additionally, according to the Deepfake-o-meter, a tool designed to detect AI-generated content, there is an approximate 91 percent probability that this video was created using AI.
Therefore, the circulated video claiming to show an Iranian attack on a US base in Qatar is completely AI-generated.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner’s Analysis