Fact Check: Iran attacks US aircraft carrier? No, video is AI-generated
As tensions escalate in the Iran-Israel-US conflict, a video is circulating on social media with the claim that it shows Iran striking a US aircraft carrier vessel with a missile.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The viral video shows Iran attacking a US aircraft carrier vessel with an airstrike.
Fact:False. The video is AI-generated, and it has been circulating online since August 27, 2025.
Hyderabad: A video of plumes of smoke and fire on a ship is going viral on social media.
The video is circulating online with the claim that it shows an Iranian ballistic missile striking an American aircraft carrier vessel. The conflict began on February 28 after Israel-US joint strikes in Iran reportedly killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The post sharing the video reads, “Iran Hits US Aircraft Carrier With Ballistic Missiles”. The video was shared to Instagram. (Archive)
Posts making similar claims can be found here and here.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the viral claim is false. The video is AI-generated, and it has been circulating online since August 27, 2025.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that its cruise missiles struck the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The military said its cruise missiles at the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group had ‘forced it to change its position.’
Iran has also released a video claiming to show the footage of the attack; the video has not been independently verified.
However, these claims remain unverified and have not been acknowledged by US authorities.
A video report by WION uploaded to YouTube on March 27 stated that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has claimed a second missile strike on the aircraft carrier, asserting that its missiles targeted the vessel in the Arabian Sea.
Analysis of the video
Analysing the viral video, we found that the plumes of smoke look unnatural. This indicates that the viral video could be AI-generated.
Using reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared on Instagram on August 27, 2025, by the user ‘Nakroos’.
The description of the account states, “Nakroos AI Productions. Consistent AI Characters & Voices. Viral Reels, AI Commercials, AI Short Films/Animations & YT PS Thumbs.”
The caption of the post confirms that the user has generated the viral video using AI.
The caption reads, “The aircraft ship crashed in nowhere. i explained how it happened. this shot looks super realistic but believe me it’s 10000% ai generated. i’m just experimenting to create crazy unimaginable shots that look like real life disasters but all made with ai. i don’t want to lie to you guys, so i’m always honest here…hundreds of more realistic ai crashes, explosions & insane future-style vfx shots are on the way. (sic)”
Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, also determined that the viral video is 99.9 per cent likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content.
It is clear that the viral video has been circulating online since before the Iran-Israel-US conflict broke out on February 28. The video has been generated using AI. Therefore, NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is false.
