A post shared on X claims to show Israel Defense Forces troops captured by Hezbollah.

In picture : Hezbollah has captured many Zionist terrorists in South Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/xpkzKjrcrN

— Haider 🇮🇷 🇱🇧 (@HaiderAli099) October 17, 2024

Verdict: False

The image has been generated by artificial intelligence.

Fact Check:

The IDF announced that five soldiers had been killed fighting in southern Lebanon, according to the Times of Israel. The IDF launched an invasion of southern Lebanon earlier this month, the outlet reported.

Social media users are claiming to show Hezbollah capturing IDF troops. One user wrote, “In picture : Hezbollah has captured many Zionist terrorists in South Lebanon.”

This claim is false. The image has been generated by artificial intelligence. The image is blurred, such as the hands and faces, which may have fooled some tools that detect images generated by artificial intelligence, such as Hive Moderation.

There are, however, several signs that the image is not genuine. For example, the Hebrew does not appear to be readable, and one of the rifles appears to have gun barrels on both sides, which is not how Israeli rifles are made or used.

BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sadarizadeh also debunked the claim in an Oct. 17 post. (RELATED: Image Allegedly Showing Chris Evans Signing An Israeli Bomb Intended For Gaza Is Miscaptioned)

This widely shared image, claiming to show IDF soldiers captured by Hezbollah, is AI-generated and fake.

The bizarre rifles, tactical gear and inelligible Hebrew on the vests are all signs of AI.

Fact-checked by @GhonchehAzad pic.twitter.com/q6inrth6rK

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) October 17, 2024

“This widely shared image, claiming to show IDF soldiers captured by Hezbollah, is AI-generated and fake. The bizarre rifles, tactical gear and inelligible Hebrew on the vests are all signs of AI,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.