ISLAMABAD: Posts from multiple users on social media platforms X and since Monday shared videos allegedly showing Iranian armed forces thanking Pakistan for intelligence support against Israel. However, the viral clips are AI-generated.
Israellaunchedwide-scale air strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military sites and private residences, killing top commanders, scientists and hundreds of others on June 13. Both countries traded wave after wave of devastating strikes and missile volleys since then. Aceasefirewas achieved on June 24 after 12 days of fighting.
On Monday, a pro-military account on shareda video of two soldiers allegedly recording a video in gratitude to Pakistan.
“Our nuclear programme is safe. Thank you, Pakistan, for protecting it with your intelligence support,” they said.
The post was captioned: “An Iranian soldier thanking Pakistan, saying: Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
The post gained 1.4 million views and 12,000 reactions.
The viral clip was also sharedhere,here,here,hereandhere, and on Xhere,here,hereandhere.
Another similar video went viral with among social media users on Wednesday, showing Iranian soldiers expressing gratitude to Pakistan, as can be seenhere,here,here,hereandhere.
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in diplomatic relations between Iran and Pakistan amid the conflict with Israel.
An observation of the video revealed signs of AI-generated content, including a plastic-like skin texture, unnatural lip movements, and fixed eyes with no blinking throughout the viral clip.
Analysing the video using tools to detect manipulation revealed that Hive Moderation assigned it a 57 per cent suspicion rating, Attestiv.ai gave it a 30pc rating while Deepware did not flag the content as a deepfake.
The viral clip also featured a Veo logo on the bottom-right corner, a text-to-video model developed by Google DeepMind.
Looking up the username@isipakistan440as visible in the clipyieldeda TikTok account, featuring similar AI-generated videos with nationalistic content.
As for the second video, an observation showed the same signs of AI-generated content.
Analysing the video using the tool revealed that Hive Moderation assigned it a 31pc suspicion rating, while Deepware did not flag the content as a deepfake.
It also featured a Veo logo in the bottom-right corner.
A reverse image search yielded a TikTokpostfrom account@waggyai, featuring the same video posted on Monday.
As evident from the account name, the user routinely posts AI-generated media exploring geopolitical themes.
Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim that viral videos show Iranian armed forces thanking Pakistan for intelligence support against Israel isfalse. The videos are AI-generated.
At the same time, iVerify Pakistan observed multiple other claims regarding celebrations in Iran after the ceasefire. Here are more claims that were debunked by the platform.
– Image of Tehran celebrations — FALSE
On Tuesday, a pro-Iranian user shared an image of Tehran’s Milad Tower onX, captioned: “Tehran now … The Iranian capital is celebrating the great victory. Tap like and share the photo.”
The post was seen by more than 2.5m people.
The same image was also shared onXby an Indian actor and film critic, where it garnered over 88,000 views.
Several other X users also shared the same claim as can be seenhere,here,here,here,hereandhere, collectively gaining more than 30,000 views.
It also appeared on, receiving over 1,000 reactions.
A reverse image search led to an postby the account lorestan_travel_guide, a self-described tour guide, dated October 27, 2020. The post featured the same image with the caption: “Milad Tower, also known as Tehran Tower, is a multi-purpose tower in Tehran, Iran. It is the sixth-tallest tower and the 24th-tallest freestanding structure in the world.”
Additionally, the same image had been shared previously inSeptemberandNovember2024.
Therefore, the claim that an image shows celebrations in Tehran after the ceasefire isfalse. The image is not from recent celebrations and has been online since at least 2020.
– Tehran rally thanking Pakistan — FALSE
On Wednesday, an X user shared an eight-secondclipshowing a large crowd of people gathered on a city street, appearing to be in a celebratory or protest mood.
The caption on the post read, “In today’s rally held in Tehran, young people are holding the Pakistani flag and expressing their gratitude to Pakistan.”
The post received 43,600 views.
“The same clip was shared by several other X users as seenhere,here, andhere, collectively accumulating 6,000 views.
The clip was also found onTikTok.
Examining the viral clip reveals several inconsistencies. The walking style of the crowd appears unnaturally fast and gliding, giving the impression that individuals are being slid rather than walking naturally.
At the five-second mark, people can be seen moving in different directions and oddly passing through one another. Additionally, those raising their hands while chanting slogans display unusual hand movements — some hands visibly pass through others’ heads.
The presence of the “Veo” watermark at the bottom-right corner indicates that the video was created using AI-generated inputs.
Examining the video using AI detection tools revealed that Hive Moderation flagged it with a 99.9pc likelihood of being AI-generated.
Therefore, the claim that a video shows Iranians thanking Pakistan in a Tehran rally while carrying the flag isfalse. The video is a deepfake.
