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What’s happening: Pro-Iran social media users circulated a video purportedly showing Iranian forces capturing the pilot of a U.S. F-15E fighter jet that was shot down over southwestern Iran on April 3.
In fact, the video is from last year, predating the start of the Iran war — and the two crewmembers of the downed jet were rescued by U.S. forces after the false claim citing the video of a capture.
Context: On April 3, Iran shot down a U.S. F-15E fighter jet with two crewmembers aboard, according to news accounts. The U.S. launched a major search and rescue operation.
A closer look: About an hour after U.S. news outlets first reported the downed fighter, pro-Iran social media users began sharing a low-quality video showing a person standing in a field aiming a gun at another person, who had their arms raised. Muddled voices are heard off-screen, although NewsGuard was unable to verify the language being spoken.
You can watch the video here:
Pro-Iran X user @SilentlySirs posted the video and stated, “The American pilot is in the custody of the Sons of Haidar al-Karrar,” apparently referencing a brigade of the Iranian-funded, Iraqi paramilitary organization Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq. The post received 442,000 views and 4,700 likes in less...
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