What was claimed
An image shows that Iran has shot down an American B-2 bomber and captured the entire crew.
Our verdict
The image is fake.
Image showing US B-2 supposedly ‘shot down’ by Iran is fake
An image being shared online with claims that Iran has “shot down” an American B-2 bomber and captured its crew is fake.
The image seemingly depicts three US servicemen being led away from an apparently downed B-2 stealth bomber by Iranian soldiers.
American B-2 stealth bombers are confirmed to have been used to strike Iran, however there have been no credible reports of any of these aircraft being shot down.
There are also a number of irregularities which suggest the image isn’t real.
The image in question shows what appear to be three US servicemen, however according to the US Air Force, B-2 aircraft are only manned by a crew of two. In addition, the image features an improbably large Iranian flag in the background, and higher quality versions of the picture show one of the Iranian soldiers escorting the US servicemen appears to have three hands.
Additionally, Full Fact has confirmed that this image contains a SynthID watermark, indicating that it was created or altered using Google AI. It appears to have first been shared on X by an account which confirmed it was created “as a parody”.
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Other fact checkers have also concluded this image is fabricated.
We’ve fact checked a number of images and videos circulating on social media relating to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Before sharing content like this that you see on social media, it’s important to consider whether it comes from a verifiable and trustworthy source. Our Full Fact toolkit can help you do this.