Fact Check: Iran kills 16,500 Israeli soldiers? No, AI-generated video goes viral
A video circulating on social media claims to show an Israeli man saying that 16,500 soldiers were killed in Iranian attacks.
By - Rahul Adhikari
Claim:The video shows an Israeli man saying that 16,500 soldiers were killed in Iranian attacks.
Fact:False. The video is AI-generated, and there are no credible reports of such a high death toll in Israel.
Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media claims to show a man reporting from Tel Aviv, Israel, stating that over 16,500 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Iranian attacks.
The video is being shared in the context of the ongoing escalation between Iran and Israel.
The viral clip shows a man recording himself while running and saying, “They are doing… they are killing our people in the dark; 16,500 murdered.” In the background, several cars with blaring sirens can be seen.
Several users shared the short clip on X and wrote, “This man directly from location in Tel Aviv, said they have gotten the most devastating attack in their country, more than 16500 soldiers killed by Iranian strike. (sic)”
One such post with the same caption received over 1.49 lakh views and 4,700 likes. (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. An AI-generated video was falsely shared as footage from Tel Aviv under attack.
Analysis of the viral video
We reviewed the video carefully and identified several visual anomalies characteristic of generative AI. The man’s teeth appear to morph and blend unnaturally during speech. The star on the pendant around his neck is unstable, flickering and losing its geometric shape. The background elements lack consistency and seem to smear or dissolve into the surroundings.
For further analysis, we uploaded the video to the Hive AI content detection tool.
The tool flagged several timeframes where the probability of the video being AI-generated exceeded 90 per cent. Overall, the tool detected a 59.7 per cent probability that the video is AI-generated.
Another AI content detection tool, Deepfake-O-Meter, also indicated strong signs that the video is AI-generated.
This confirmed that the video was artificially created and does not show a real incident.
Origin of the video
To find the source of the AI video, we conducted a reverse image search on key frames from the clip and found that it was originally shared on Instagram on January 19 by a handle named Shai Friedman. The creator has added an AI label to the video, indicating that it was generated using AI.
We also reviewed the comments where one user stated that the video is ‘100 percent AI.’ The creator confirmed in response that the video was indeed created using AI.
The handle Shai Friedman creates AI-generated content as seen on his profile. He appears in different roles across multiple videos.
In the original video, the creator was referring to 16,500 people killed in Iran, not Israel. The AI-generated video was posted with a caption that read, “Free Iran!!! Where are you, world??? (sic)”
What did the Israeli media report?
According to a report by Hindustan Times dated March 22, the Israeli government confirmed that only 13 people have been killed in the country.
There are no reports of 16,500 Israeli soldiers being killed by Iran. Therefore, we conclude that the claim is false.
