International news agencies documented huge crowds at former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral procession in Tehran. But alongside genuine images of mourners, AI-generated videos and photos falsely claiming to show the event have spread widely online. Some exaggerate the size of the crowds, while others feature tell-tale AI errors and fabricated landmarks designed to generate clicks and engagement.
Huge crowds gathered in Tehran on Monday as Iran held the funeral procession for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. International news agencies documented dense crowds lining the streets as Khamenei's coffin was carried through the capital, following two days lying in state at the Grand Mosalla Mosque.
But alongside verified images of the procession, a wave of AI-generated videos and photos has spread across social media, falsely claiming to show the event. Some exaggerate the size of the crowds, while others fabricate scenes entirely in an apparent effort to generate clicks and engagement.
One widely shared video, promoted by pro-regime accounts and viewed hundreds of thousands of times, claimed to depict the "largest funeral in history". However, several clues indicate it was generated using artificial intelligence. The Persian text visible in the clip is meaningless gibberish, while the mosque itself differs architecturally from Tehran's Grand Mosalla. The viral video shows a white dome, whereas the real mosque's dome is blue, as seen both in agency photographs and images filmed by our FRANCE 24 correspondent.
The same pattern appears elsewhere online. Another viral AI-generated image falsely claimed to show crowds gathered around Tehran's Azadi Tower. OpenAI's image detection tool identified a SynthID watermark, indicating the image was created using AI. It also contains geographical inconsistencies, including rows of trees and buildings that do not appear in recent satellite imagery of Azadi Square.
A separate AI-generated video, viewed more than a million times, appears to show millions of mourners carrying Khamenei's coffin through packed streets. But the footage contains several common AI artefacts, including distorted hands, unrealistic crowd movements and a lack of distinct facial features.
Misleading content surrounding major news events typically falls into three categories: old footage presented as new, genuine images taken out of context, or entirely AI-generated media. In the case of Khamenei's funeral, much of the viral misinformation circulating online falls into the third category.
Vedika Bahl separates fact and fiction in Truth or Fake.
