As is typical in times of war, vast amounts of content are circulating online regarding the US-Israel-Iran conflict, but not all of it is accurate. DW Fact Check has undertaken an analysis to separate verified facts from false claims, highlighting the challenges of information integrity in a high-stakes geopolitical scenario.
Since the United States and Israel initiated airstrikes against Iran on February 28, social media platforms have been inundated with posts purporting to depict scenes from Tehran and other Iranian cities. While some footage, particularly that disseminated by reputable professional media organizations, is genuine, a significant portion is misleading, recycled, taken out of context, or artificially generated and outright fake, contributing to a chaotic information environment.
DW Fact Check examined several widely shared videos that users claim show events in Iran. One user posted a video on X with 2.9 million views at the time of writing, alleging it shows the Iranian capital, Tehran. The user states that the "US began dropping 2,000-pound bombs" on March 4 and that the administration "still says this is not a war." The US military confirmed on X that B-2 stealth bombers commenced strikes on Iran's ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs as early as February 28. A reverse image search indicates the video does depict bombing in Tehran, countering erroneous claims it shows Baghdad in 2003 or Beirut in 2020. However, it cannot be definitively confirmed that this specific video shows "2,000-pound bombs" being dropped, and the date is incorrect, as the video was originally shared on March 1.
Another claim involves a Facebook user asserting that a video shows the funeral procession for Iran's late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with over 90,000 views. DW Fact Check rated this as false, noting that Khamenei was killed in the initial wave of US-Israeli attacks, and an official funeral has not yet been held. The video actually depicts the funeral of former Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah and his likely successor Hashem Safieddine, which took place on February 23, 2025, as verified through reverse image searches and AFP news agency photographs.
A third claim, posted on X with 2.6 million views, alleges that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's recently assassinated supreme leader, was also killed in US strikes in Tehran. DW Fact Check labeled this as unproven, citing no evidence of Mojtaba's death and the absence of formal statements from the US, Israel, or Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has declared that any leader appointed by the Iranian government to replace Khamenei would be an "unequivocal target for elimination," but Mojtaba's fate remains uncertain, with previous deepfake videos adding to the confusion.
These cases underscore the pervasive issue of misinformation during conflicts, where rapid dissemination of unverified content can distort public perception and exacerbate tensions. The lack of formal declarations of war by the US administration, despite ongoing military operations, further complicates the narrative, as seen in the mixed accuracy of the claims analyzed.
Source: www.dw.com