Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, affecting petroleum and gas supplies around the world. Pressure is continuously increasing on America to reopen the strait. Amid this, a video is widely circulating on social media showing a destroyed US warship, with claims that it was destroyed by an Iranian attack. The words “US Navy” can be seen written on it.
A user named Iranian Force, while sharing the post, claimed: ‘#Breaking Just now, a major attack has been reported on the U.S. Navy. The footage clearly shows that Iran’s missile power is increasing day by day.”
Several other users have also shared the same video with similar claims. While sharing the video, a user named Kamesh Kumar wrote in a post, ‘Iran fired a missile at a US Navy ship, causing a massive fire. America is now losing this war, and the country is facing humiliation solely due to Trump’s wrong policies.’(English translation)
Fact Check:
During the investigation, the DFRAC team found that the viral video is not an original clip of a damaged US Navy warship, but is instead an AI-generated video.
Our team searched Google using keywords related to a US warship being damaged in an Iranian attack, but we found no such reports published by any mainstream media outlets.
Upon closer inspection of the video, we observed unnatural patterns in the ship’s surface, the flames, and the movement of the smoke. The structure of the ship’s upper deck, as well as equipment like the radar and antennas, showed slight blurring and distortion—common characteristics of AI-generated content.
Furthermore, we analyzed the video using AI-detection tools, including Hive Moderation and the University at Buffalo’s Deepfake-o-meter (AVSRDD 2025). The results of our investigation confirmed that the video is AI-generated.
Meanwhile, our team contacted AI expert Mayank Sharma for more detailed information about the video. After analyzing the video, Mayank stated that the visual artifacts seen around the fire, smoke, and ship’s structure are common in AI-generated content. Specifically, the texture of the smoke, uneven edges, and sudden changes in detail in some frames indicate that this footage may have been algorithmically generated rather than recorded with an actual camera.
Our team investigated the user Iranian Force who posted the video. During the investigation, we found that this user consistently shares fake and misleading information on social media. The user identified themselves as part of the Iranian Force and listed their location as the United States; however, according to information available on X (formerly Twitter), this account is being operated from Pakistan, which can be clearly seen in the graphics provided here
Conclusion:
It is clearly evident from the fact check by DFRAC that the video shared on social media is not of a US warship being damaged in an Iranian attack. This video is AI-generated. Therefore, the users’ claim is fake.
