Iran is using AI-altered pictures of new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei — amid reports that the successor is too injured to make any public appearance.
A probe of the latest photos published by Iran state-media and on Khamenei’s new X account reveal that they have been edited using online AI tools, said Shayan Sardarizadeh, the Senior journalist at BBC Verify.
“Google’s SynthID finds watermarks in it that indicate it has been edited using Google AI,” Sardarizadeh wrote on X.
The fake photos appeared to be manipulated from years-old photos of Khamenei attending a pro-government rally, the verification expert added.
The X account’s metadata shows that it is based in the Netherlands.
The fake photos appeared to be manipulated from years-old photos of Khamenei attending a pro-government rally, the verification expert added.
There have been no new images released of Khamenei since he was appointed as Iran’s supreme leader earlier this week following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The new leader has been missing from the public eye, with reports emerging that he was wounded during the strike that killed his father on Feb. 28.
One Iranian source told The Sun that Khamenei was actually in a coma and undergoing intensive care at the Sina University Hospital in Tehran.
“One or two of his legs have been cut off. His liver or stomach has also ruptured. He is apparently in a coma as well,” the source alleged.
Other Iranian sources insisted Khamenei had only suffered minor injuries — including a fractured foot, bruised eye, and face lacerations during the initial wave of airstrikes — and was sheltering inside a highly secure location.
Experts have said that Khamenei is being intentionally kept out of the public eye until he recovers in order to project strength at a time of war.