Bbc News verification rebukes images as Pakistan-Afghanistan strikes spark competing claims
news verification teams have debunked AI-generated images and recycled footage that circulated after Pakistan carried out overnight strikes on targets in Afghanistan, even as headlines claimed the Afghan Taliban shot down a Pakistani jet in Jalalabad and captured its pilot alive.
News verification team debunks aircraft footage
Thomas Copeland, Verify Live journalist, described a day of work focused on Afghanistan after Pakistan conducted strikes on two provinces and the capital of Kabul in response to a major offensive against Pakistani military posts announced by the Taliban. The verification team used open-source intelligence, satellite imagery, fact-checking and data analysis to examine visuals and claims tied to the overnight strikes, and found AI-generated images and older clips being circulated as evidence of downed aircraft.
Headlines claim downed Pakistani jet in Jalalabad
Headlines that said the Afghan Taliban shot down a Pakistani jet in Jalalabad and captured the pilot alive circulated online. Those claims appeared alongside the recycled images and footage that the verification team debunked; the context provided here does not resolve whether the jet downing claim is accurate, and the imagery presented as proof was identified as AI-generated or old material.
USS Gerald R Ford tracked while sanitation videos debunked
The feed also tracked the USS Gerald R Ford, which left Greece yesterday and is expected to arrive near Israel, and noted that the carrier’s deployment now extends to 247 days. Around the time of the online claims about downed aircraft, old videos circulated claiming to show overflowing toilets on board the Gerald R Ford; those videos were debunked by the verification work.
The US Navy released a statement on Thursday addressing some of these claims. The statement said: "In recent weeks, media reports have raised concerns regarding shipboard systems, including sanitation. " Captain David Skarosi, the commanding officer of the carrier, was quoted saying, "On a ship this size, with this many Sailors, clogs will occur. " "In most instances, " Skarosi added, "clogs are the result of items being flushed that should not be introduced into the system" and any plumbing issues are quickly resolved "with no impact to operational readiness, " he said. Admiral Daryl Caudle, the chief of naval operations, also addressed reports of low crew morale: "Extended deployments demand endurance, " Caudle said. "They ask Sailors to miss births, anniversaries, and everyday moments at home. "
UK fact-checking after by-elections and Glasgow outreach
Back in the UK, the verification team split part of its work to examine claims following a Green Party by-election win. The team dug into leader Zak Polanski’s claims about wealth tax and separately examined leader Zack Polanski’s statements on wealth taxes in Switzerland, while also fact-checking Labour’s claim that Nigel Farage was responsible for the £350m bus claim during the Brexit referendum campaign in the wake of the Gorton and Denton by-election contests. The feed noted it had met nearly 200 teenagers when Verify on Tour reached Glasgow this week to discuss disinformation, AI and verification.
Where verification goes next
The feed described itself as a place where the verification team posts work throughout the day and invited readers to get in touch a link. The verification stream said it will return first thing on Monday morning, and separately noted the USS Gerald R Ford’s expected arrival near Israel as an upcoming operational milestone.
