AI image of crashed jet falsely linked to Iran-Israel war

said its forces had shot down two Israeli fighter jets, a report dismissed as "fake news" by an Israeli official, an image surfaced in posts falsely claiming it shows a downed F-35. But the picture contains visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated content, an AFP analysis found.
"The F-35 shot down by Iran. Much bigger than I thought," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Threads on June 15, 2025.
The image appears to show a massive fighter jet that has crashed in the desert and is missing its left wing. A crowd appears to have gathered around its nose.
It circulated after Iranian state media said the country's forces had downed two Israeli fighter jets during a massive Israeli air raid on June 13 (archived link). An Israeli official rejected the report as "fake news" (archived link).
Image
Screenshot of the false Threads post taken June 19, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
The same image was shared on South Korean forum Aagag, and a wider crop appearing to show the plane next to a road surfaced in similar Threads and X posts as well as in other forums such as SVR Forum, Ruliweb, MLB Park and Inven.
But the image has tell-tale signs of being AI generated, and the purported F-35 fighter jet does not match photos of the warplane.
In the version that shows the plane next to a road, the people surrounding the aircraft appear to be as large as the buses and one vehicle appears to be fused to the road.
Image
Visual insistencies contained in the falsely shared image -- highlighted and magnified by AFP
Moreover, the shape and size of the purported crashed jet -- which according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin measures just under 16 metres (52 feet) -- differs from F-35s as seen in photos available
An AFP photo of an Israeli F-35 also shows the symbol on its wing -- a Star of David on a circle -- is different to the symbol on the purported crashed jet's wing, which appears to be a star with a thick border.
Image
Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared image (left) and photos of F-35s (right), with differences highlighted by AFP
While generative AI technology is rapidly improving, visual inconsistencies persist and are the best way to identify fabricated content.
The Iran-Israel conflict has triggered a wave of misinformation, which AFP has debunked here.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Euronews

30 minutes ago

• Euronews

UK police searching for pro-Palestinian activists over RAF jet damage

Police in the United Kingdom are searching for suspects and the military is reviewing its security procedures after pro-Palestinian activists broke into a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire and damaged two planes with red paint, officials said on Friday. The group Palestine Action said two members entered RAF Brize Norton, some 110 kilometres west of London, on Wednesday and used electric scooters to approach the Voyager jets, which are used for air-to-air refuelling. The duo sprayed red paint into the planes' turbine engines with repurposed fire extinguishers. They caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage appearing to show an individual approach a jet and spray paint into the engine. The activists left the base without being detained, Palestine Action said. The group said in a statement that "despite publicly condemning the Israeli government, Britain continues to send military cargo, fly spy planes over Gaza and refuel US/Israeli fighter jets." The Ministry of Defence confirmed the incident, saying: "We strongly condemn this vandalism of Royal Air Force assets." UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the vandalism "disgraceful" in a post on X. Thames Valley Police said in a statement that it had "received a report of people gaining access to RAF Brize Norton and causing criminal damage." Officers were working with staff at the base and military police to arrest the perpetrators, the force said. The government said two planes were being checked for damage and that the vandalism had not stopped any planned aircraft movements or operations. "A full security review is underway at Brize Norton," Starmer's office said. "We are reviewing security across the whole defence estate." Planes from RAF Brize Norton regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain's main air base for operations in the Middle East. The UK has sent more Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager tankers to Cyprus since the Israel-Iran conflict started a week ago for what Starmer called "contingency support." Iran has threatened to attack US, French and British bases in the region if those countries help Israel fend off Iranian strikes. Despite recent efforts to boost European defence production, the bloc remains 'highly vulnerable' and heavily reliant on the United States—particularly for major, high-end defence equipment—according to a new analysis by the Brussels-based economic think tank Bruegel. Trade statistics show that the value of weapons imported to Europe increased from approximately $3.4 billion for the period 2019–2021 to $8.5 billion for 2022–2024 across the 27 member states, with the US leading this increase despite concerns over its capabilities. 'Europe has the industrial production capacities to increase production of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles,' said Guntramm Wolff, Bruegel's senior fellow, during the launch of the report Fit for war by 2030? on Friday morning.* 'What is more concerning is the more modern weapons systems, where we have limited capabilities,' he added. Bruegel and Kiel Institute for the World Economy researchers have detected that the reliance on the US for certain defence and security domains is very high, including hypersonic missiles, next generation jets, AI integrated systems and intelligence services. 'There has been some increase in various systems—artillery in particular has grown substantially—but these increases are still relatively small compared to the overall demand,' Wolff said. For example, the report notes that Europe held 1,627 main battle tanks in 2023, while projections suggest 2,359 to 2,920 will be needed in the coming years, depending on the scenario. As for air defence systems such as the Patriot and SAMP/T, stock levels in 2024 stood at 35 units—far below the 89 required. 'Major investments in research and development will be essential,' the authors advise EU policymakers and national governments, especially given Europe's lagging defence R&D compared to global competitors. In 2023, Europe invested €13 billion in military R&D. By contrast, China invested €21 billion, while the US allocated a staggering $145 billion. In March, the European Commission unveiled its rearmament initiative—now called Defence Readiness 2030—with a target of mobilising up to €800 billion to address the bloc's most critical defence shortfalls. Meanwhile, NATO is expected to call on its 32 members to increase defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2032—or potentially by 2035—a target Spain has already criticised as 'unreasonable'. But simply increasing budgets won't solve the problem, the report warns. 'More military spending will not automatically and immediately translate into military capabilities, especially if the defence industrial base is already under strain,' the researchers argue. The real challenge, they stress, lies in converting funding into tangible capabilities through a coherent, forward-looking strategic and operational plan. With the European defence market still highly fragmented, greater integration would improve cost-effectiveness. But alongside procurement reform, military planning must also be strengthened. 'This is really about rebuilding the ability to understand war through the lens of peer conflict—and that is just as much of a challenge as disbursing the money,' said Dr. Alexandr Burilkov, assistant director for research at the GLOBSEC GeoTech Center. According to the researchers' estimates, even the proposed €800 billion may fall short—insufficient to cover the development of missile capabilities, procurement of tanks, artillery, and infantry fighting vehicles, modernisation of forces, and investment in air defence systems.

France 24

an hour ago

• France 24

French champagne makers face prison in human trafficking trial

More than 50 mostly undocumented migrant harvesters lived in accommodation that harmed their "security, health and dignity", according to the prosecution. A prosecutor at the Chalons-en-Champagne criminal court in eastern France late Thursday requested a four-year prison sentence, including at least two behind bars, for a director of the vine-growing servicing company Anavim on charges including human trafficking. The director, a Kyrgyz woman in her forties, has also been accused of concealed labour, submitting vulnerable or dependent persons to undignified housing conditions, and employing foreign nationals without authorisation. "We cannot accept any champagne bottle concealing unregulated subcontracting and blatant mistreatment," the prosecutor said. Communicating with the help of a translator, the main defendant denied she was responsible for the housing conditions, and blamed two other defendants suspected of recruiting the harvesters hailing from Mali, Mauritania, Ivory Coast and Senegal. The prosecutor requested a three-year sentence for those two men, including at least one year without parole. Both Anavim, the company that provided the housing to the 57 seasonal workers, and a wine cooperative that traded with it were also tried as responsible parties in court. The prosecutor requested that Anavim be dissolved and the cooperative fined 200,000 euros ($230,500). French law defines human trafficking as "recruiting, transporting, transferring, housing or receiving a person to exploit them," by means of coerced employment, abusing a position of authority, abusing a vulnerable situation or in exchange of payment or benefits. 'Like slaves' Camara Sikou, one of the labourers, said in court that the workers had been treated "like slaves". Another worker, Modibo Sidibe, told AFP: "They put us in an abandoned building with no food, no water, nothing. And then they took us to harvest the grapes from 5:00 am to 6:00 pm." After a neighbour alerted the French police, investigators in September 2023 inspected the living conditions of the harvesters, according to prosecutor Annick Browne. The accommodation, a warehouse and a house under construction in the village of Nesle-le-Repons, contained "worn and dirty sanitation facilities", an outdoor kitchen and living areas that were unprotected from the weather, and bedding strewn on the floor. The accommodation also failed to respect electrical "security measures", the prosecutor said. Following the inspection, regional authorities ordered the closure of the accommodation, citing "unsanitary" and "undignified" living conditions. According to a report conducted by the labour inspectorate, the accommodation was in a state of "dilapidation", and the toilets and shared living spaces were "disgusting" due to lack of cleaning. Maxime Cessieux, the lawyer of the victims, said before the trial that the defendants had shown "total contempt" and disrespect for "human dignity". 120,000 seasonal workers Every year, around 120,000 seasonal workers are brought in the Champagne region to handpick grapes grown across 34,000 hectares (84,000 acres) and used to make its iconic bubbly. The famed winemaking region's reputation took a hit in 2023 when four grape harvesters died, possibly the result of sunstroke after working in scorching heat. David Desgranges, vice president of the Committee Against Modern Slavery, said the public should "be made aware of the extent of human trafficking in the agricultural sector", and producers "should know that they may face legal procedures". The court is to issue a verdict on July 21.

AFP

7 hours ago

• AFP

AI image of crashed jet falsely linked to Iran-Israel war

said its forces had shot down two Israeli fighter jets, a report dismissed as "fake news" by an Israeli official, an image surfaced in posts falsely claiming it shows a downed F-35. But the picture contains visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated content, an AFP analysis found. "The F-35 shot down by Iran. Much bigger than I thought," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Threads on June 15, 2025. The image appears to show a massive fighter jet that has crashed in the desert and is missing its left wing. A crowd appears to have gathered around its nose. It circulated after Iranian state media said the country's forces had downed two Israeli fighter jets during a massive Israeli air raid on June 13 (archived link). An Israeli official rejected the report as "fake news" (archived link). Image Screenshot of the false Threads post taken June 19, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The same image was shared on South Korean forum Aagag, and a wider crop appearing to show the plane next to a road surfaced in similar Threads and X posts as well as in other forums such as SVR Forum, Ruliweb, MLB Park and Inven. But the image has tell-tale signs of being AI generated, and the purported F-35 fighter jet does not match photos of the warplane. In the version that shows the plane next to a road, the people surrounding the aircraft appear to be as large as the buses and one vehicle appears to be fused to the road. Image Visual insistencies contained in the falsely shared image -- highlighted and magnified by AFP Moreover, the shape and size of the purported crashed jet -- which according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin measures just under 16 metres (52 feet) -- differs from F-35s as seen in photos available An AFP photo of an Israeli F-35 also shows the symbol on its wing -- a Star of David on a circle -- is different to the symbol on the purported crashed jet's wing, which appears to be a star with a thick border. Image Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared image (left) and photos of F-35s (right), with differences highlighted by AFP While generative AI technology is rapidly improving, visual inconsistencies persist and are the best way to identify fabricated content. The Iran-Israel conflict has triggered a wave of misinformation, which AFP has debunked here.