What was claimed
A video of destroyed buildings shows recent scenes in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Our verdict
This is not real footage, and was almost certainly created with artificial intelligence.
Video supposedly showing destroyed buildings in Tel Aviv almost certainly AI
A video is being shared on social media with claims it shows scenes in Tel Aviv amid recent airstrikes between Iran and Israel. But this is not real footage and was almost certainly created with artificial intelligence (AI).
The video being shared on social media comprises two clips that appear to be drone footage of a dense urban landscape where multiple buildings have been reduced to rubble. It has been shared with the caption “doomsday in Tel Aviv!”, and a location tag overlaid on the video says Tel Aviv in Arabic (translated by Google).
The video appears to have first been shared by accounts with the same branding on Instagram and TikTok, where it has more than 39,000 shares, on 28 May, before the latest set of strikes between Israel and Iran. However, this is not real footage of Tel Aviv.
On a closer look, there are clear signs it was made using AI. For example, in the first clip, two cars approaching each other at a T-junction in the top left corner appear to merge into one. Other vehicles in the video also become glitchy and blurry as they move.
Dr Siwei Lyu, an expert in digital media forensics, also told Full Fact that the inconsistent shapes and positioning of windows in some of the buildings in the video were signs it had been AI-generated.
The Instagram account has shared many similar videos showing destroyed buildings, as well as other ones that are clearly not real. According to Google translate, the account bio refers to artificial intelligence. We’ve contacted the account for comment and will update this article if we receive a response.
Israel launched an attack on Iranian nuclear infrastructure and other targets on 13 June, killing senior Iranian military leaders. The two countries have been launching air strikes at each other in subsequent days, with some Iranian missiles penetrating Israel’s Iron Dome defence system. This includes a fatal strike on a building in Bat Yam in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area contributing to some of the 24 deaths in the country, according to the Israeli PM. Iran says over 200 people have died in strikes since Friday.
It’s worth noting that some social media posts share versions of the footage that are much more grainy and blurry, making it difficult to identify signs of AI. It’s always worth looking for clearer versions by searching key frames of footage using tools like TinEye or Google Lens.
You can find more information about identifying AI-generated content using our guides.
This is not the first time we’ve seen content claiming to show scenes from conflict that was likely made with artificial intelligence. We recently fact checked a video supposedly showing destroyed Russian aircraft. You can find more of our work writing about claims relating to the recent conflict between Israel and Iran on our website, as well as those concerning other global conflicts.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because this is not genuine footage, and was almost certainly created using artificial intelligence.