Fake image of people cleaning blood off street in Iran shared online

An image that appears to show people cleaning blood-soaked streets has been shared with claims it shows a scene from Iran.

Although thousands of people were killed by Iranian authorities during a crackdown on protests in January this year, this particular image [warning: distressing content], shared thousands of times across X, Instagram and Threads, was most likely made using artificial intelligence (AI), according to expert analysis.

And other clues, including nonsensical shop signs in an uncropped version and there appearing to be no reliable source for the image, which has not been shared by any credible media outlets, have led us to conclude it is fake.

Dr Siwei Lyu, an expert in digital media forensics at University at Buffalo, State University of New York, told Full Fact his analysis showed the image was “likely AI-generated”.

He pointed to several visual clues, including a figure who appears to be holding a broom-like tool in the foreground that unnaturally blends into a hose, and many of the people in the background being excessively blurry with faces lacking clear structure or detail.

Dr Lyu also noted two figures holding the broom and hose like tools in the background whose body shapes and head positions look distorted and unnatural. He also pointed out the inconsistency of the scene’s perspective. Lines that should converge toward the same vanishing point do not properly intersect, which suggests geometric distortion.

Other fact checkers have also highlighted issues with the shop signs, which often appear unnatural and illegible and make no sense in Persian.

You can read more of our fact checks about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East here. During developing news events it’s important to rely on sources that are trustworthy and verifiable before sharing content which you see on social media. Our toolkit and guides on identifying AI-generated content, have tips on how to do this.