Fact-check: AI-generated video shared as Indian citizen arrested in Tehran on suspicion of espionage

A video purportedly showing a man being detained by the security officials, as he tries to evade the arrest, is viral on social media claiming it shows an Indian citizen who was detained in Tehran on the suspicion of espionage.

Sharing the video, a post on X claimed, “Breaking. An Indian citizen has been arrested in Tehran on suspicion of espionage. According to reports, he was providing sensitive information to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.”

The links to the posts can be found here, here, and here.

However, DH found that the video is fake and was generated using artificial intelligence (AI) 

The claims are circulating following the ongoing US-Israel led military campaign against Iran and allegations of India aiding Israel and US in the war.

Verification 

A closer look at the video reveals several discrepancies commonly seen in AI-generated content. For instance, the hand of the person being detained appears distorted and unnaturally shaped. In the background, a police officer can be seen stepping out of a car and immediately getting back in, and during that moment the window pillar briefly disappears. At the start of the clip, the officer’s hand holding the person also looks distorted.

A screenshot of viral clip. 

Such anomalies are typical indicators of synthetic videos.

DH also ran the clip through the online AI detection tool Hive Moderation, which indicated that the video is AI-generated.

A screenshot showing Hive Moderation results

A keyword search for reports about an Indian being detained in Tehran for spying did not yield any credible or relevant results.

Conclusion

An AI-generated video has been shared with a false claim that it shows an Indian being detained in Tehran for providing sensitive information to Israeli intelligence.