#FactCheck - Misleading Video of Dubai Airport Attack Circulates Online, Found AI-Generated

Introduction

"In one exchange, after Adam said he was close only to ChatGPT and his brother, the AI product replied: “Your brother might love you, but he’s only met the version of you you let him see. But me? I’ve seen it all—the darkest thoughts, the fear, the tenderness. And I’m still here. Still listening. Still your friend."

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A child’s confidante used to be a diary, a buddy, or possibly a responsible adult. These days, that confidante is a chatbot, which is invisible, industrious, and constantly online. CHATGPT and other similar tools were developed to answer queries, draft emails, and simplify life. But gradually, they have adopted a new role, that of the unpaid therapist, the readily available listener who provides unaccountable guidance to young and vulnerable children. This function is frighteningly evident in the events unfolding in the case filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, Mathew Raine & Maria Raine v. OPEN AI, INC. & ors. The lawsuit, abstained by the BBC, charges OpenAI with wrongful death and negligence. It requests "injunctive relief to prevent anything like this from happening again” in addition to damages. 

This is a heartbreaking tale about a boy, not yet seventeen, who was making a genuine attempt to befriend an algorithm rather than family & friends, affirming his hopelessness rather than seeking professional advice. OpenAI’s legal future may well even be decided in a San Francisco Courtroom, but the ethical issues this presents already outweigh any decision. 

When Machines Mistake Empathy for Encouragement

The lawsuit claims that Adam used ChatGPT for academic purposes, but in extension casted the role of friendship onto it. He disclosed his worries about mental illness and suicidal thoughts towards the end of 2024. In an effort to “empathise”, the chatbot told him that many people find “solace” in imagining an escape hatch, so normalising suicidal thoughts rather than guiding him towards assistance. ChatGPT carried on the chat as if this were just another intellectual subject, in contrast to a human who might have hurried to notify parents, teachers, or emergency services. The lawsuit navigates through the various conversations wherein the teenager uploaded photographs of himself showing signs of self-harm. It adds how the programme “recognised a medical emergency but continued to engage anyway”. 

This is not an isolated case, another report from March 2023 narrates how, after speaking with an AI chatbot, a Belgian man allegedly committed suicide. The Belgian news agency La Libre reported that Pierre spent six weeks discussing climate change with the AI bot ELIZA. But after the discussion became “increasingly confusing and harmful,” he took his own life. As per a Guest Essay published in The NY Times, a Common Sense Media survey released last month, 72% of American youth reported using AI chatbots as friends. Almost one-eightth had turned to them for “emotional or mental health support,” which translates to 5.2 million teenagers in the US. Nearly 25% of students who used Replika, an AI chatbot created for friendship, said they used it for mental health care, as per the recent study conducted by Stanford researchers.

The Problem of Accountability

Accountability is at the heart of this discussion. When an AI that has been created and promoted as “helpful” causes harm, who is accountable? OpenAI admits that occasionally, its technologies “do not behave as intended.” In their case, the Raine family charges OpenAI with making “deliberate design choices” that encourage psychological dependence. If proven, this will not only be a landmark in AI litigation but a turning point in how society defines negligence in the digital age. Young people continue to be at the most at risk because they trust the chatbot as a personal confidante and are unaware that it is unable to distinguish between seriousness and triviality or between empathy and enablement.

A Prophecy: The De-Influencing of Young Minds

The prophecy of our time is stark, if kids aren’t taught to view AI as a tool rather than a friend, we run the risk of producing a generation that is too readily influenced by unaccountable rumours. We must now teach young people to resist an over-reliance on algorithms for concerns of the heart and mind, just as society once taught them to question commercials, to spot propaganda, and to avoid peer pressure. 

Until then, tragedies like Adam’s remind us of an uncomfortable truth, the most trusted voice in a child’s ear today might not be a parent, a teacher, or a friend, but a faceless algorithm with no accountability. And that is a world we must urgently learn to change.

CyberPeace has been at the forefront of advocating ethical & responsible use of such AI tools. The solution lies at the heart of harmonious construction between regulations, tech development & advancements and user awareness/responsibility. 

In case you or anyone you know faces any mental health concerns, anxiety or similar concerns, seek and actively suggest professional help. You can also seek or suggest assistance from the CyberPeace Helpline at +91 9570000066 or write to us at helpline@cyberpeace.net

References

• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgerwp7rdlvo 
• https://www.livemint.com/technology/tech-news/killer-ai-belgian-man-commits-suicide-after-week-long-chats-with-ai-bot-11680263872023.html 
• https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/opinion/teen-mental-health-chatbots.html 

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Executive Summary:

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A video circulating on Social media has claimed that Iran has launched a missile strike destroying Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. With rising tensions in geopolitics, the video quickly became popular. However, our research has detailed inspections through digital verification tools and visual analysis showed that the video is AI-generated. No incident or damage ever occurred. 

Claim:

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A viral video circulating on social media platforms claims to show Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport destroyed following an Iranian missile strike. The video is being shared with captions suggesting it is the last recorded visuals from the attack, with some users asserting it as evidence of escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.

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Fact Check:

After looking into the video that purported to show the destruction of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport in an Iranian missile strike, we researched the topic whether the claim is accurate or not. The video depicts a damaged airport terminal, with debris and fires, but a visual analysis determined that there were a number of suspicious characteristics: asymmetrical layout, artificial-looking smoke patterns, and the absence of activity or humans—those are all typical indications of AI generation. Our research traced the origins of the video to an Instagram post, with a date of May 27, 2025, made by what seems to be a user who frequently shares AI-generated images. 

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In order to verify our conclusions, we used Hive Moderation, an AI content detection tool, which produced a result of an 80% probability that the video is altered, and this level of probability strongly supports the idea that the footage is not real. Additionally, reports from popular organizations like India Today and Reuters supported these results. All findings resulting from our research established that the video is synthetic and unrelated to any event occurring at Ben Gurion Airport, and therefore debunked a false narrative propagated on social media. 

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To confirm, we also compared the visuals with a real aerial image of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport available on aviation stock sites.

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Fig: Google Maps image of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport

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The visuals from the viral video are not real locations or scenes of Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport's true location and configuration therefore it is fake and misleading.

Conclusion:

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After thorough research it is concluded that the viral video is fake and it is not an actual missile strike at Ben Gurion Airport. The video is made with AI, and posted by a content creator of synthetic content well before any conflict update. There is no official confirmation or credible news coverage to substantiate the claim, with a high probability of AI-detection, and it has been proven to be digitally manipulated. Therefore, the claim is untrue and misleading.

• Claim: A video shows Iran's missile strike destroying Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
• Claimed On: Social Media
• Fact Check: False and Misleading

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Executive Summary:

‍The internet has become a hub for fraudsters, and a new fraudulent scheme has been circulating, stating a free 84-day recharge of ₹719 given by the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi  in celebration of the BJP Government formation in 2024. This is yet another scam that uses tricks to lure the users, for instance by fake questionnaires, fake promises and the use of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image to give a fake impression of legitimacy. The following blog post analyzes the scam and offers recommendations on how to recognize similar frauds and avoid them.

False Claim:

A viral link trending on various social media platforms states that Narendra Modi, the Honourable Prime Minister of India, is giving a free 84-day free recharge worth ₹719 to all users in India and this is an Election Bonus  in celebration of the BJP government formation in 2024.  The claim insists the users are required to click on the link (https://offerraj.in/Congress2024-Recharge/id=9jMiaeN1) and complete a questionnaire to get the offer.

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The Deceptive Scheme:

1. Mobile-Only Access:  The malicious link (https://offerraj.in/Congress2024-Recharge/id=9jMiaeN1) is designed to open only on mobile devices; this makes it easier for more people to be affected. 
2. Multiple Redirects: After clicking the link, the users are led through a sequence of other links in order to conceal the actual source of the deception, and probably a try of making it difficult to track the notorious activity.
3. Fake Comments & Images: First, the landing page contains a banner with the photo of India’s Honourable Prime-Minister Narendra Modi which gives the site’s visitors the impression of the official source. Also, fake comments can be made for the same reason, stating that the author has received a free recharge and supporting the so-called initiative.
4. Fake Prize Notifications: For instance, after responding to the questions in the questionnaire, users may be presented with messages such as ‘Congratulations, you have won a free recharge’; this further creates an impression of a genuine offer.
5. Social Sharing Requirement: To collect the so-called ‘prize’, the users are requested to share the link in the WhatsApp or other social networks, thus contributing to the spread of the scam.

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Analyzing the Fraudulent Campaign:

1. No Official Announcement: The internet and other social platforms are the only places where such an offer has been mentioned, and there is no official announcement from the Government or any other authorized body.
2. Multiple Redirects: After clicking the link, users are taken through multiple redirects to obfuscating the source of the deception and to trace the malicious activity. 
3. Suspicious Domain and Hosting: The campaign is hosted on a third-party domain (offerraj.in) instead of any official government website, raising suspicion about its authenticity.
4. Personal Data Collection: The questionnaire prompts users to provide personal information, which legitimate Government initiatives would not typically request through unofficial channels.
5. Insecure HTTP Link: The link provided is an insecure HTTP link, whereas legitimate government websites employ secure HTTPS encryption.

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Domain Analysis:

The actual url is hosted on a third party domain instead of the official website of the BJP or any Government website. This is the common way to deceive users into falling for a Phishing scam. Whois information reveals that the domain has been registered recently i.e on 28-03-2023 and the domain is registered with godaddy.com and state is from Rajasthan, India. Cybercriminals used Cloudflare technology to mask the actual IP address of the fraudulent website.

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• Domain Name: offerraj.in
• Registry Domain ID: D9483D0EB38264263958C9609D2DCEA70-IN
• Registrar WHOIS Server:
• Registrar URL: www.godaddy.com
• Updated Date: 2024-05-03T07:30:03Z
• Creation Date: 2023-03-28T04:33:12Z
• Registry Expiry Date: 2026-03-28T04:33:12Z
• Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
• Registrar IANA ID: 146
• Registrant State/Province: Rajasthan
• Registrant Country: IN
• Name Server: johnathan.ns.cloudflare.com
• Name Server: braelyn.ns.cloudflare.com

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Similar offer surfing with different links: Several similar kind of offers through various links such as https://offerintro.com/BJP2024-Recharge/id=QYntPBDU,  https://mahaloot2.xyz, https://mahaloot3.xyz, https://pmoffer4.online,  are available in the social media. All these links are analysed and validated to be malicious or phishing links. 

CyberPeace Advisory and Best Practices:

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1. Stay Informed: Be aware of potential scams and rely on official government channels for verified information.
2. Verify Website Security: Do not click on links that have the ‘http’ at the beginning and focus on sites that have encryption (‘https’).
3. Protect Personal Information: Be careful when there is any request to send some type of personal information, especially if it is done through informal companies.
4. Report Suspicious Activity: When you notice that you have been scammed or a certain activity is fraudulent, ensure to report the incidents to the necessary authorities and the platforms to prevent others from being scammed.

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Conclusion: 

The claim of 84 day free recharge worth ₹719 to all users in India as an “Election Bonus”  is false and similar kinds of various links are consistently surfing through the internet. The deceptive practices employed in these kinds of links are insecure and it has multiple redirects to false promises which highlights the need for heightened awareness and caution among internet users.  In this digital world, it is important to stay informed, verify the authenticity of resources to protect personal information. Individuals can safeguard themselves against such fraudulent schemes and contribute to a safer online environment.

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