Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel
The ever-escalating Middle East war and its related events have become the main topics of discussion in mainstream media and on almost all social media networks worldwide. Among the information presented in this way, there is a lot of misleading content as well. This is a fact-check of some of the posts circulating in this way related to the Middle East war.
Social Media Posts
The post below claims that Iran has captured 10 American sailors, including a female member, and is holding them on Farsi Island, and is accompanied by several photos. According to the photos, the soldiers are sitting on the ground, and the boat they are said to have used can be seen in the photos.
A video similar to the above images is also circulating on social media under the title of “American soldiers captured by Iranian forces.” According to the video, a group of soldiers is kneeling on a US-flagged vessel with their hands behind their heads, seemingly being held hostage by a group of people.
We took this step to verify the authenticity of content, including videos and photos, shared on social media.
Fact Check
Since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28, international news agencies, leading media outlets, and even live broadcasts have been bringing the current war situation closer to the public. However, no international mainstream media outlet has reported the news that a group of American soldiers have been arrested by the Iranian army, as reported on social media, nor has any media outlet reported the footage circulating on social media.
Accordingly, we took steps to check the footage and photos of this video through a Reverse Image search.
Our checks revealed that this incident is not an incident related to the US-Iran-Israeli war, but a scene and several photos of an incident reported several years ago. The footage is linked to an incident in which 10 US Marines (including a sailor) and two vessels were seized by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy after they entered Iranian territorial waters near Farsi Island, Iran, on January 12, 2016.
After the group was arrested, footage and photos of their arrest and detention were broadcast by Iranian media, and many international media outlets reported the news, as seen below.
The US military initially said the two vessels had accidentally entered Iranian waters due to a mechanical failure. However, the IRGC Navy said the incidents were due to a technical problem with the US vessels’ navigation systems. However, Iran later released the captured Marines a day later, on January 13, 2016, following urgent talks between the diplomatic and security authorities of the two countries.
Accordingly, the videos and photos released by Iran in relation to the 2016 incident are circulating on social media, claiming that Iran has captured American soldiers in connection with the ongoing war.
The incident of the capture of American Marines by the Iranian Navy was reported by all international media outlets at the time, along with relevant videos and photos. Details here, here, and here.
Major international media reports indicate that there are several US citizens already detained in Iran for a long time, and that attention is focused on rescuing them, given the current military situation. Those reports are here and here.
Join us to learn about our fact-finding efforts
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok
Conclusion:
Our investigation shows that the photos and videos circulating on social media purporting to show Iran capturing 10 American sailors and holding them on Farsi Island are not photographs or footage of an incident related to the current military situation. The photos and videos are a series of photos and videos of American Marines captured by the Iranian Navy in Iranian waters in 2016 and later released.
Title: Were a series of photos and videos of American soldiers recently captured by the Iranian military?
Fact Check By: Sagarika Chathumali
Result: Misleading
