Deepfake campaign: 110+ fake videos of Iranian strikes
An Iran-linked influence operation has flooded platforms with more than 110 deepfakes staging fake Iranian strikes, accumulating over 145 million views. The fabricated footage notably shows explosions in Tel Aviv and the USS Abraham Lincoln in flames, none of which actually occurred.
The narrative claims Iran inflicted massive and victorious strikes against Israel and the United States during the June 2025 conflict, portraying Tehran as militarily dominant and its adversaries as defeated. The New York Times documented more than 110 distinct deepfake videos, notably showing explosions in Tel Aviv and the USS Abraham Lincoln in flames; Cyabra measured 145 million views and 9 million interactions within days. None of these events occurred.
Executive summary
A documented disinformation operation disseminated over 110 deepfakes depicting fictional Iranian strikes, generating 145 million cumulative views across social platforms. These synthesized contents show non-existent explosions in Tel Aviv and the destruction of an American aircraft carrier, amplifying regional tensions through video manipulation.
What is observed
Major video sharing platforms and social networks hosted over 110 synthesized video contents between [dates to specify]. These videos displayed urban explosions attributed to Tel Aviv and images of military vessels in flames. Dissemination metadata shows coordinated visibility acceleration across multiple time zones. No corresponding military incident was reported by American or Israeli official sources. Imagery analysts confirmed typical deepfake artifacts (peripheral facial distortions, light reflection inconsistencies).
What this does not prove
Observing these contents does not formally confirm the identity of creators or precise tactical motivations. The observed amplification on certain profiles does not prove direct coordination between Iranian and Russian/Chinese entities, but rather convergence of interests or autonomous reuse. The absence of real incidents does not demonstrate the perceived effectiveness of this operation among target audiences, nor its impact on political or military decisions. View volume may result from organic sharing or amplification by unrelated third parties without direct links to initial actors.
Confidence level
The existence of deepfake contents is technically verifiable through inspection, but attribution to specific Iranian, Russian or Chinese structures relies on online behavior indicators and security agency statements without public access to complete forensic evidence.
Methodological limits
This brief relies on the analysis of publicly accessible content (OSINT). Attribution is based on converging technical and editorial indicators, without access to the internal communications of designated actors. Volume data reflects content captured by our 567-source pipeline and does not constitute an exhaustive census.
How to cite this investigation
DisInfo Monitor (2026), "Deepfake campaign: 110+ fake videos of Iranian strikes", independent publication, disinfo-monitor.com/en/narrative/iran-campagne-deepfakes-missiles-2026-110-videos-fake-explosions-mor0hgep, first detected May 4, 2026, last updated May 4, 2026, accessed May 19, 2026.