US soldier crying on battlefield, Riyadh US embassy destroyed? No, AI visuals are viral
A video allegedly showing US soldiers crying for being deployed in a warzone and an image claiming to show the Riyadh US Embassy destroyed were shared online.
By - Rahul Adhikari
Claim:The video shows US soldiers crying about being deployed amid US-Iran tensions, and the image shows a destroyed Riyadh US Embassy.
Fact:False. The video and the image were generated using AI.
Hyderabad: A video has surfaced on social media amid the ongoing conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States, claiming to show American soldiers deployed in the war zone breaking down in tears.
The conflict between Israel, the United States and Iran has intensified, with Iranian airstrikes hitting the US Embassy in Riyadh. The death toll in Iran and Lebanon has now surpassed 600, according to the latest reports.
The viral clip shows a person in a soldier’s uniform crying and saying, “I can’t see my daughter anymore.” Two soldiers can be seen sitting in the background.
One user shared the video on X and wrote, “A US soldier is crying as he recounts the attacks. American embassies from Islamabad to Baghdad have been set on fire. Iran continues its attack on the US military base in Tehran.” (Archive)
Apart from the video, an image is also circulating that claims to show visuals of a damaged US embassy in Riyadh after it was struck by Iran.
Sharing the image, one user wrote on X, “Smoke rose from the US embassy in Riyadh following a large explosion. The Saudi Ministry of Defence announced that the US embassy in Riyadh was attacked by two Iranian drones.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. Both the video and the image were created using AI and falsely linked to the ongoing conflict.
Analysis of the video
We couldn’t find any credible news reports stating that American soldiers on the battlefield are crying about being there.
We noticed clear anomalies that suggest the video was created using AI. The facial expressions look rubbery and unnatural. There is glitching around the hands with fingers merging into the phone. The lighting also does not match the background, creating a typical green screen effect seen in AI-generated content.
AI-generated content detection tool Hive noted that the video is 33.1 per cent likely to have been generated using AI. The tool further indicated that a small portion of the video was likely created using AI with 83.3 per cent confidence
We uploaded the video on the deepfake detection tool Deepfake-O-Meter, and it gave strong indicators that the video was created or generated using AI.
Analysis of the image
Hive noted that the image was 99.9 per cent likely generated using AI.
We uploaded the image to Gemini and the tool’s Google SynthID detector confirmed that it was created using Google AI. The tool stated, “A visual analysis of the image reveals several details that are common in AI-generated content. This image was generated or edited with Google AI.”
