Iran Evin Prison Video Sparks AI Fake Claims
Viral Video Sparks AI Manipulation Concerns
Doubts are surfacing regarding the authenticity of a widely circulated online video that purports to show a strike on Iran's Evin prison. This Tehran facility has served as the primary prison for political detainees since Iran's 1979 revolution, according to Reuters. The agency also noted its history as a site for executions and for holding several high-profile foreign prisoners.
On Monday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the military was conducting strikes in Tehran, including on Evin. Following this, Minister for Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar shared a black-and-white video, claiming it was security camera footage of a strike on the prison's gates.
The brief 6-second clip depicts the prison gates, which explode just before the 2-second mark. Observers noted that the straight lines of a door then appear to wobble in an unusual manner, raising initial questions.
Slowing down the video gives some signs of AI generation.
Expert Skepticism Over Evin Prison Footage
ABC NEWS Verify consulted Hany Farid, co-founder and chief science officer at GetReal, a platform dedicated to combating deepfakes. Professor Farid, also a media forensics specialist at the University of California, Berkeley, commented on the video.
"Unfortunately, the quality of the video is too poor for proper analysis using forensics or our models," Professor Farid stated.
"That said, we have our doubts as to the authenticity of this video."
Uncovering Clues AI Behind the Blast Video
The forensic team at GetReal traced the earliest version of the video to a Telegram channel named "Iran Human Rights Society." A post accompanying the video read, "Now is the time to help the prisoners."
GetReal also discovered an image of the prison from 2023.
This image was taken from an Iranian news website article that was posted in 2023. (Voa News)
This 2023 image matches the first frame of the disputed video. The GetReal team noted that the surrounding branches and shrubbery in the video frame appear "oddly bare for summertime."
The 2023 image matches the first frame of the video. (GetReal)
"It seems more likely that an AI-powered image-to-video generator was used with this image as the source," Professor Farid suggested. Another inconsistency highlighted is the text "CAMERA 07" in the top left of the video, which is in English, whereas Farsi is the dominant language in Iran.
Contextualizing the Strike Media Response
ABC NEWS Verify clarifies that it is not suggesting there was no Israeli strike on Evin. The focus is solely on the possibility that this specific "security camera video" may have been AI-generated or otherwise manipulated.
Other videos showing smoke in the area around the prison have been geo-located and verified. One such video appears to be taken from north of the prison, looking towards the back of the complex.
The purported security camera footage, despite depicting the correct location of the Israeli strike, gained traction after being shared by Mr. Sa'ar, a high-ranking minister, and was subsequently included in reporting by major news outlets. Some outlets later added footnotes to their stories about the Evin strike after removing the video. For instance, the New York Times noted, "One clip purporting to show the moment of the strike as captured on a security camera appears to have been digitally manipulated, and references to it have been removed."
Verifying the video is complicated by the fact that it shows a real location, which can be found on Google Street View.
The Google Maps Street View image shows similar details to the purported security camera clip. (Google Maps)
The Rising Tide of AI Fakes in Global Events
Professor Farid expressed concern about the implications if the video is indeed proven to be fake. "It adds to a growing and troubling trend of fake content circulating online as major world events unfold, making our understanding of what is happening and how to respond shaky, at best," he told ABC NEWS Verify.
Numerous examples of fake images and videos have circulated since the beginning of the Israel-Iran conflict. One such post falsely claimed to show Tel Aviv engulfed in flames, featuring an image of a building with the logo of Rafael, an Israel-based weapons manufacturer.
These images falsely claim to show Tel Aviv engulfed in flames. (Supplied)
Another piece of manipulated media was a fake video posted online, claiming to show a downed B-2 bomber. In this AI-generated clip, a telltale sign of manipulation is visible: one man in the rear, at the center-right of the frame, appears to merge with the background.
