News | International
30 Jun 2025 9:02
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > International

    Video of explosion at Iran's Evin Prison suspected of AI manipulation

    The video was shared widely, even news agency picked it up, but are there signs of artificial intelligence manipulation?


    Doubts are being raised about the authenticity of a video being widely shared online purporting to show a strike on Iran's Evin prison.

    The facility in Tehran has been the primary prison for housing political detainees since Iran's 1979 revolution, according to Reuters.

    The agency said it had been the site of executions, and that several high-profile foreign prisoners were held there.

    Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military was carrying out strikes in Tehran, including on Evin, on Monday.

    Minister for Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar shared a black-and-white video claiming to show a security camera video of a strike on the prison's gates.

    The 6-second clip shows the gates of the prison, which explode just before the 2-second mark.

    The straight lines of a door then wobble in an unusual way.

    ABC NEWS Verify showed the video to Hany Farid, the co-founder and chief science officer at GetReal, a platform that combats the threat of deepfakes.

    He is also a professor at University of California, Berkeley, specialising in media forensics.

    "Unfortunately, the quality of the video is too poor for proper analysis using forensics or our models," Professor Farid said.

    "That said, we have our doubts as to the authenticity of this video."

    The forensic team at GetReal traced the earliest version of the video to a Telegram channel called "Iran Human Rights Society".

    "Now is the time to help the prisoners," its post read.

    GetReal also found an image of the prison from 2023.

    It matches the first frame of the video, with the team noting the surrounding branches and shrubbery are "oddly bare for summertime".

    "It seems more likely that an AI-powered image-to-video generator was used with this image as the source," Professor Farid said.

    The top left of the video also reads "CAMERA 07" in a country where the dominant language is Farsi, not English.

    Videos confirm strike

    ABC NEWS Verify is not suggesting there was no Israeli strike on Evin, only that this "security camera video" may have been AI-generated or manipulated in some other way.

    Other videos from around the prison, showing smoke in the area, can be geo-located and verified.

    This one appears to be taken from north of the prison, looking towards the back of the complex.

    The purported security camera footage, in the correct location of the Israeli strike, was included in reporting by major news outlets after it was shared by Mr Sa'ar, a high-ranking minister.

    Some included footnotes on their stories about the strike at Evin, after having removed the video.

    "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," the New York Times reads.

    Verifying the video is also made more difficult as it shows a real location, which can be found on Google Street View.

    Fake content circulating

    Professor Farid said if the video were proven fake, it would be concerning.

    "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.

    There have been numerous examples of fake images and videos circulating since the Israel-Iran war began.

    This post falsely claims to show Tel Aviv engulfed in flames, with one image showing a building carrying the logo of Rafael, an Israel-based weapons manufacturer.

    This fake video was also posted online, claiming to show a downed B-2 bomber.

    In the AI-generated clip, one man in the rear at the centre right of the frame appears to merge with the background, a telltale sign of manipulation.


    ABC




    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

     Other International News
     30 Jun: Three months on from 'Liberation Day', Donald Trump's trade war is punishing US businesses
     30 Jun: China forces young Tibetan children to indoctrination boarding schools to push state propaganda, report finds
     30 Jun: F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Lando Norris beats Oscar Piastri to race win, Carlos Sainz out after car catches fire in pits
     29 Jun: Kiwi athletes are warned to be careful of their attire, after a first-of-its-kind doping case
     29 Jun: Kneecap play Glastonbury set amid terrorism charge as police investigate crowd chants
     29 Jun: Popular and easy winter desserts
     29 Jun: Falling missile debris smash West Bank villages and terrify residents
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has revealed why they opted to bring Dalton Papali'i into camp again following the injury to Wallace Sititi More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Three months on from 'Liberation Day', Donald Trump's trade war is punishing US businesses More...



     Today's News

    Business:
    Three months on from 'Liberation Day', Donald Trump's trade war is punishing US businesses 8:37

    Golf:
    Golfer Kazuma Kobori has finished in a share of 16th at the Italian Open on the European Tour 8:37

    International:
    China forces young Tibetan children to indoctrination boarding schools to push state propaganda, report finds 8:27

    Netball:
    The Tactix are ruing an inability to turn possession into goals during their 59-50 loss to the Pulse in netball's ANZ Premiership at Wellington 8:07

    Environment:
    NZ cities are getting hotter: 5 things councils can do now to keep us cooler when summer comes 8:07

    Rugby League:
    Canberra prop Josh Papalii has been dragged out of State of Origin league retirement to give Queensland's forward pack some oomph in the decider next Wednesday at Sydney 8:07

    Business:
    Excitement over expected changes to the way authorities deal with retail crime 7:57

    Law and Order:
    The Police watchdog's reopened a complaint into a Christchurch detective's alleged intimate relationship, with a rape complainant 7:57

    Soccer:
    A Messi exit for Inter Miami in the round-of-16 at football's Club World Cup 7:47

    Christchurch:
    Police are investigating an unexplained death in Canterbury's Amberley 7:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd