FACT CHECK: Image Purporting To Show Fire In Rafah Near Tent Camp Is AI-Generated
An image featured in a video shared on Instagram purports to show a fire in Rafah near a tent camp.
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Verdict: False
A content detection scan using the website “Hive Moderation” reveals the image is 99% likely to have been generated using artificial intelligence (AI). A media forensics and AI expert also denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Israel’s military denied that munitions it dropped during a recent airstrike sparked a fire that killed 45 Palestinians, including women and children, according to Axios. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the fire as “a tragic accident,” the outlet reported.
The Instagram video, which has received over 200,000 likes as of writing, features an image that purports to show a fire in Rafah near a tent camp. A cloud of smoke is visible over the area. In addition, Arabic writing as well as the word, “Rafah” appear as text overlay on the image.
The claim is false, however. A content detection scan using the website, “Hive Moderation” reveals the image is 99% likely to have been generated using AI. The results of the same scan indicate Midjourney is the program that was probably used to create the image.
Screenshot captured via Hive Moderation
Likewise, the image does not appear in any recent credible news reports about Rafah or the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. In fact, the opposite is true. USA Today reported the image is AI-generated via a June 3 article. Additionally, the image is neither referenced on the website for Palestine’s Ministry of Affairs and Expatriates nor its verified X account. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Recent Attack At Israeli Consulate In Istanbul?)
Furthermore, Dr. Walter Scheirer, a media forensics and AI expert at the University of Notre Dame, denied the image’s authenticity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This image is likely the product of a generative AI algorithm, coupled with an image editing tool. Text has been added to the image in multiple places, indicating that it has been altered. The image itself is not photorealistic, and appears cartoonish in nature. This is characteristic of the output of a generative AI algorithm. Further, the scene looks nothing like recent photos of Rafah that have been published by authoritative news sources,” Scheirer said.
