Public criticism over reported sharing of mostly AI-generated Iran-strike clips
December 2025 coverage: Mark Levin shared a viral montage framed as Israeli strikes on Iranian military sites. A BBC Verify journalist said three of four clips were AI-generated; UK fact-checker Full Fact later reached the same conclusion with digital-forensics experts.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Reported sharing of purported Iran-strike CCTV montage - Mediaite reported that Fox News host Mark Levin posted an Instagram link and a video sequence in early December 2025 that appeared to show CCTV of IRGC personnel at computers before blasts wiped out the camera feeds; the montage had already circulated widely on social media. BBC Fact-Checker Outs Mark Levin's Israeli Strike Clips as 'AI-Generated'
- BBC Verify journalist publicly flags three clips as AI-generated - Mediaite reported that BBC Verify senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh quote-tweeted Levin's post, writing that three of the four clips in the purported Israeli-strike video were AI-generated and that only the third clip, starting around the 10-second mark, was real. BBC Fact-Checker Outs Mark Levin's Israeli Strike Clips as 'AI-Generated'
- Jewish Chronicle reports genuine clip's real location - The Jewish Chronicle reported Kasra Aarabi of United Against Nuclear Iran saying most clips in the sequence were AI-generated, but one genuine clip was filmed at the Artesh-run Tabriz air-defense base, not an IRGC site, and had been released in a documentary/interview with an Artesh commander about troops' commitment. Did the Iranians release footage of their soldiers being blown up by Israeli strikes - and if so, why?
- Full Fact UK: three clips likely AI-generated - On Dec. 5, 2025, Full Fact reported that a viral compilation claiming 'new footage' of Israeli missile hits on Iranian bases included three clips that digital-forensics experts (including at UC Berkeley) said were most likely AI-generated; they judged the third clip probably real and previously aired on Iranian state TV. Video compilation includes faked clips of Israeli missile strikes on Iranian bases