From Dw · · 1m 20s
Fact check: Fake viral videos of Riyadh airport attacks
DW Fact check reveals AI-generated videos falsely linked to Riyadh airport attacks.
In brief
DW Fact check reveals AI-generated videos falsely linked to Riyadh airport attacks. DW Fact check found four viral videos falsely claimed to show Riyadh airport attacks were AI-generated with inconsistencies. Originally reported by Dw.
Riyadh airport attacked
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for attacks on King Khalid International Airport, killing at least 16 people since last Thursday.
“Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport has been targeted by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis”
Viral videos falsely claimed
Social media users shared videos claiming to show airport attacks, but DW Fact check found several were AI-generated with inconsistencies.
“This AI-generated video has been circulating since March and contains several inconsistencies”
First fake video
A video with 1.7 million views on X claims to show an attack but DW Fact check found it was AI-generated and dates back to March 2026.
“The video has been online since March 2026 and could not show the most recent attacks on the airport”
Second fake video
A video with 2.9 million views claims to show airport attacks but DW Fact check found it was AI-generated using a 2016 Shutterstock photo.
“The original image was uploaded to stock photo database Shutterstock in 2016”
Third fake video
A TikTok video with 301,000 views claims to show recent attacks but DW Fact check found it was AI-generated and predates the attack by months.
“This video had already circulated online in March 2026, months before the attack”
Fourth fake video
A TikTok video with 500,000 views contains Google AI watermarks and was shared by an account that only posts AI-generated content.
“The clip contains a SynthID watermark in both the images and the audio”
All videos fake
All four examined videos were AI-generated with inconsistencies, misleading users about recent airport attacks.
“All four videos examined by DW Fact check are very short”
The main idea
DW Fact check found four viral videos falsely claimed to show Riyadh airport attacks were AI-generated with inconsistencies.
