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Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
Musk-owned AI chatbot struggled to fact-check Israel-Iran war
A new report reveals that Grok — the free-to-use AI chatbot integrated into Elon Musk's X — showed "significant flaws and limitations" when verifying information about the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran (June 13-24), which now seems to have subsided. Researchers at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) analysed 130,000 posts published by the chatbot on X in relation to the 12-day conflict, and found they provided inaccurate and inconsistent information. They estimate that around a third of those posts responded to requests to verify misinformation circulating about the conflict, including unverified social media claims and footage purporting to emerge from the exchange of fire. "Grok demonstrated that it struggles with verifying already-confirmed facts, analysing fake visuals and avoiding unsubstantiated claims," the report says. "The study emphasises the crucial importance of AI chatbots providing accurate information to ensure they are responsible intermediaries of information." While Grok is not intended as a fact-checking tool, X users are increasingly turning to it to verify information circulating on the platform, including to understand crisis events. X has no third-party fact-checking programme, relying instead on so-called community notes where users can add context to posts believed to be inaccurate. Misinformation surged on the platform after Israel first struck in Iran on 13 June, triggering an intense exchange of fire. Grok fails to distinguish authentic from fake DFRLab researchers identified two AI-generated videos that Grok falsely labelled as "real footage" emerging from the conflict. The first of these videos shows what seems to be destruction to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport after an Iranian strike, but is clearly AI-generated. Asked whether it was real, Grok oscillated between conflicting responses within minutes. It falsely claimed that the false video "likely shows real damage at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport from a Houthi missile strike on May 4, 2025," but later claimed the video "likely shows Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, damaged during Israeli airstrikes on June 13, 2025." Euroverify, Euronews' fact-checking unit, identified three further viral AI-generated videos which Grok falsely said were authentic when asked by X users. The chatbot linked them to an attack on Iran's Arak nuclear plant and strikes on Israel's port of Haifa and the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot. Euroverify has previously detected several out-of-context videos circulating on social platforms being misleadingly linked to the Israel-Iran conflict. Grok seems to have contributed to this phenomenon. The chatbot described a viral video as showing Israelis fleeing the conflict at the Taba border crossing with Egypt, when it in fact shows festival-goers in France. It also alleged that a video of an explosion in Malaysia showed an "Iranian missile hitting Tel Aviv" on 19 June. Chatbots amplifying falsehoods The findings of the report come after the 12-day conflict triggered an avalanche of false claims and speculation online. One claim, that China sent military cargo planes to Iran's aid, was widely boosted by AI chatbots Grok and Perplexity, a three-year-old AI startup which has drawn widespread controversy for allegedly using the content of media companies without their consent. NewsGuard, a disinformation watchdog, claimed both these chatbots had contributed to the spread of the claim. The misinformation stemmed from misinterpreted data from flight tracking site Flightradar24, which was picked up by some media outlets and amplified artificially by the AI chatbots. Experts at DFRLab point out that chatbots heavily rely on media outlets to verify information, but often cannot keep up with the fast-changing news pace in situations of global crises. They also warn against the distorting impact these chatbots can have as users become increasingly reliant on them to inform themselves. "As these advanced language models become an intermediary through which wars and conflicts are interpreted, their responses, biases, and limitations can influence the public narrative."
Euronews
20-06-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Verifying conflicting accounts of Iran's strike on an Israeli hospital
Conflicting narratives have emerged after an Iranian missile struck an Israeli hospital on Thursday, with Tehran claiming it was targeting military facilities while the Israeli defence minister described the attack as a "war crime." Israel's Health Ministry said 71 people were wounded after missiles struck the Soroka hospital. A spokesperson for the medical facility said there had been no serious casualties as the part of the hospital that was hit directly had already been evacuated. Tehran's top diplomat has claimed that the strike "eliminated" two Israeli military targets. "Our powerful Armed Forces accurately eliminated an Israeli Military Command, Control & Intelligence HQ and another vital target," Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on X, adding that the blast "caused superficial damage to a small section" of the hospital. Euronews' fact-checking team, Euroverify, has analysed videos from the site of the strike and consulted military experts to verify the plausibility of these claims. Video footage that we've verified shows significant destruction to buildings within the hospital complex, as well as medical workers running to evacuate from the site. Other photographic evidence analysed by our team suggest hospital buildings were directly impacted by missiles. We have also geo-located a video that shows the moment the missile hit a hospital building to the north of the Soroka complex, near David Ben Gurion street. This evidence contradicts the Iranian foreign minister's claims that damage to the site was "superficial' and caused by a "blast wave" from a nearby strike. Hospitals have special protection under the Geneva Convention, but lose that protection if used to commit 'acts harmful to the enemy', such as launching an attack or storing weapons. Israel has consistently targeted hospitals in its war in Gaza, claiming they are being used by Hamas militants. No evidence has yet emerged to suggest the Soroka hospital site was being used by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Dr. Ron Schleifer, an Israeli expert on information warfare, told Euroverify that the IDF does not use hospitals and other public facilities to "hide behind the civilian population." "A hospital is clearly not a legitimate target, at least in the eyes of the West," Dr Schleifer said, adding that "Israel does not need to hide military installations under hospitals." Yet, Iran has not alleged the hospital itself was being used for warring purposes, but rather that its missile was targeting two military targets in the hospital's vicinity: a "command and intelligence (IDF C4i) headquarters" and an "army intelligence campus in the Gav-Yam Technology Park." IDF C4i is the Israeli military's elite technological unit, and was described by the IDF in 2021 as being "responsible for all the contacts, computers and communications of IDF forces on the battlefield." The exact site of its headquarters is classified information and cannot be verified. The second site targeted according to Iran was the IDF technology campus at the Gav-Yam Technology park. That campus is located near the site of the strike, around 1.5km to the north-east. No verified videos have emerged to suggest the IDF campus was struck in the Thursday strike. In fact, verified videos only show impact on the hospital complex itself. This would suggest that if Iran was aiming at military targets, it missed. Two OSINT experts told Euroverify that their analysis of Iranian strikes on Israel over the past days suggests that Iran lacks precision in hitting its targets. Early on Friday morning, Israeli public media Kan reported that a fresh attack on Beersheba "targeted a residential neighbourhood," with inital reports suggesting the site of the Gav-Yam Negev park was impacted. In his post on X, the Iranian foreign minister shared a map that purports to show two Israeli military targets right next to the Soroka hospital. But the map is fake. The street names and topography do not correspond to the area, and major sites, including the Gav-Yam Negev technology park, are misspelt. X users have also misleadingly claimed that a video of an Iranian strike hitting the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv on Thursday shows an impact on the Gav-Yam Negev park. We've verified that the videos in question show a strike on the Ramat Gan neighbourhood in Tel Aviv, and not in the vicinity of the Soroka hospital as the user claims. Our journalists are continuing to verify footage emerging from the affected area and will update this story with the latest developments. More countries are evacuating their citizens from the Middle East as the conflict between Israel and Iran rages on, despite international efforts to find a diplomatic solution. Days of attacks and reprisals by the adversaries have shuttered airspace across the region, severely disrupting commercial flights. A repatriation flight transporting 69 people from Israel landed in Portugal on Thursday evening, with 48 Portuguese citizens among the passengers. The Portuguese government announced the temporary closure of its embassy in Tehran this week, alongside ongoing repatriation operations in the Middle East. In Serbia, 38 people arrived safely in Belgrade on Thursday night, most of whom were Serbian nationals. They arrived on a special Air Serbia flight from Sharm el-Sheikh, organised by the Serbian government, who said the evacuation of those wishing to leave Israel and Iran would continue. On Thursday, Serbian Prime Minister Đuro Macut met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo to discuss the emergency evacuation of more than 2,500 Serbian nationals stranded in Israel. Meanwhile, in Romania, more than a hundred people arrived in the capital Bucharest on Friday on military transport flights from the Middle East. The Romanian Ministry of Defence sent the planes to the region after its nationals requested assistance. The conflict between Israel and Iran erupted on 13 June following Israeli bombings on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, which resulted in the deaths of military leaders, scientists and civilians. More than 400 EU citizens from countries including Greece, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia have been evacuated from Israel in flights supported by the European Commission.
Euronews
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Out-of-context videos mislead social users on Israel-Iran conflict
As Israel and Iran continue to exchange fire for the seventh consecutive day, a disinformation war is simultaneously escalating on social platforms. Euronews' fact-checking team, Euroverify, has been analysing several viral videos emerging from Iran and Israel over recent days in order to verify their authenticity. Our team found a significant number of old videos, unrelated to the current conflict, being falsely linked to the ongoing exchange of fire. Many of them have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and amplified across platforms, sowing confusion and misleading social media users. A clip circulating widely across X, TikTok and Instagram, and seen hundreds of thousands of times, claims to show Iranians dancing as they shelter in tunnels in the capital of Tehran. Some social media users allege they are celebrating Israeli strikes on the city. "Iranians stuck in traffic on their way to northern Iran start singing and dancing inside a tunnel to celebrate Israeli attacks on the Islamic regime," one X user claims. But a reverse image search using still shots from the clip shows that it was originally posted on Instagram as far back as September 2023. Another video claims to show people fighting among themselves while sheltering at a Tel Aviv bunker. One X post with the video has been viewed over 700,000 times. Yet, the footage in fact shows an altercation at a Georgian court, which was first published on X on June 12, two days before Israel launched the first attacks against Iran. On that day, a 21-year-old Georgian protester was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for "hitting police officers with a stick" during demonstrations against the ruling government last November. Georgian media reported that following his sentencing the court building "descended into chaos" with hundreds of supporters, including the Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, present to lend their support to the accused. Another video purports to show a crowd of Israeli citizens fleeing from a square in Tel Aviv amid Iranian strikes. A reverse image search shows that the scene dates from April this year, when a false security alert triggered a swift evacuation of a square in Tel Aviv during a memorial day event. While the scene does show residents fleeing an Israeli square, it pre-dates the current conflict. Other social media users have shared a video claiming to show an explosion caused by an Iranian strike on Tel Aviv. But the footage is astonishingly 22 years old, and shows a US strike on Iraq in 2003. Similarly, recent footage showing an Israeli airstrike on Houthi targets in Yemen's capital Sanaa has been circulating with false claims that it shows explosions in Israel caused by Iranian attacks. Divisions over the justification for Israel's attack on Iran last Friday are set to surface among ambassadors in Brussels on Thursday, stymying EU attempts at finding a common response to the crisis, according to sources Euronews has spoken to. "It's definitely an issue that is being discussed - what is the extent to which this right of self-defence is acceptable," one source said. The EU issued a statement on Saturday calling 'on all sides to abide by international law, show restraint and refrain from taking further steps which could lead to serious consequences such as potential radioactive release'. Sources close to the discussion say a "major" part of the deliberations among member states was whether the EU should state 'Israel has a right to defend itself' in the context of its attacks against Iran. Around 15 member states including Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and the Netherlands wanted to add the line but it was not agreed unanimously. Several other countries felt there wasn't sufficient evidence that Israel has the right under international law to launch its offensive against Iran. Under international law, and the UN Charter, a state may exercise its right to self-defence in case of an armed attack or imminent attack. Any necessary action should also be proportionate. Israel says its series of strikes are pre-emptive moves to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. The issue is set to be discussed by ambassadors in Brussels on Thursday and is an agenda item for next week's EU summit of heads of state and government. Draft conclusions for that summit seen by Euronews currently contain no wording in respect of the EU Council's position on the Israel-Iran conflict. Meanwhile, EU sources told Euronews they were "surprised" by a tweet from the Commission President announcing implicit support for Israel's attacks against Tehran. The message from Ursula von der Leyen went further than the agreed statement of the European Council, which is the arm of the EU with the authority to conduct foreign policy. Ursula von der Leyen tweeted 'Spoke with President Herzog concerning the escalating situation in the Middle East. I reiterated Israel's right to defend itself and protect its people'. 'There was no consensus on saying Israel has a right to defend itself but Von der Leyen said it anyway,' another diplomatic source told Euronews. 'She saw the agreed language and then made her own statement,' they said. 'It was disheartening to be honest,' said the diplomat. 'These countries like Iran – as bad as they are don't simply submit when they're attacked like this, and what comes next will be so much worse even if there is regime change in Iran,' said this source, adding: 'And then when two or three million Iranians turn up on Europe's door they'll say we can't deal with this migration crisis." 'Member states which are critical of Israel said they thought Israeli attacks on Iran were irresponsible, but a large group is on board with von der Leyen's statement," said another diplomat. 'We would say that's a question for legal scholars – there is no judgement on that yet,' the diplomat responded, when asked if their government believed the war against Iran to be within the provisions of international law. Former International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammad El Baradei claimed in a post on X that Israeli 'suspicion does not constitute an imminent threat', and that Israel's attack on nuclear facilities was illegal under international law. 'The president has made her position clear, her position has already been taken quite clearly by the G7 leaders statement on the developments in the region," von der Leyen's spokesperson said when asked about the difference between the official statement of the EU and that of the Commission president. 'She also communicated on social media stressing the fact that Israel has the right to defend itself and Iran is the main source of tension in the region,' said Stefan de Keersmaecker on Wednesday. The EU regards Iran as major destabilising influence in the European continent through its military support of Russia. Iran has been supplying Shahed drones to Russia since the start of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to the Ukrainian army. Meanwhile the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has since reiterated the official EU position for a diplomatic resolution to the Israel-Iran war. And again called on all sides to 'abide by international law, and de-escalate the situation'. She tweeted on Wednesday that 'Israel has the right to defend itself in line with international law.'
Euronews
16-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
India and Cyprus to boost defence and maritime cooperation, Modi says
India will strengthen its defence partnership with Cyprus through expanded collaboration between their defence sectors, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Monday during a state visit to the island nation — the first by an Indian premier in over two decades. Modi, following talks with the president of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, stated that bilateral cooperation in maritime security and cybersecurity would be intensified, although he did not elaborate on specifics. The two nations also agreed to establish an information-sharing framework aimed at countering terrorism. In a joint statement, both leaders pledged to enhance maritime cooperation, including more frequent Indian naval visits to Cypriot ports and the exploration of joint training and search-and-rescue operations. Highlighting the strategic importance of Cyprus in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Modi said the initiative could foster 'peace and prosperity in the Middle East.' The corridor aims to enhance trade, energy, and digital connectivity, positioning Cyprus as a key hub due to its proximity to India and the Middle East. Christodoulides described Cyprus as India's 'gateway into Europe,' offering a base for Indian firms looking to expand westward. He committed to backing key infrastructure initiatives like IMEC and noted that deepening India-EU ties — including progress on a free trade agreement — would be a priority during Cyprus's EU presidency in the first half of 2026. Modi hailed the visit as the beginning of a 'new era' in India-Cyprus relations, rooted in long-standing ties and mutual values. Both countries, once British colonies, share a history of cooperation through the Non-Aligned Movement, having remained independent of Cold War allegiances. As Israel and Iran exchange fire for the fourth consecutive day, unverified footage of missile and drone attacks targeted at both countries is spreading virally online. Euronews' fact-checking and verification team, Euroverify, has been taking a closer look at some of those videos in order to verify their authenticity and corroborate the location of strikes. Verifying such footage is crucial in this conflict. It allows us to debunk false reports and ensure the footage used in our reporting is authentic. Videos generated using artificial intelligence and falsely claiming to show Israeli and Iranian strikes are spreading virally online. This video, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, claims to show destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But our analysis shows that the video has been clearly generated using AI. A closer look reveals that artificial-looking rays are emanating from one of the cooling towers. A fire truck can also be seen on the precipice of a crater while some of the emergency workers seem to disappear into thin air. Other AI-generated videos spreading virally claim to show damage caused to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport by an Iranian strike. Euroverify detected several versions of the videos circulating on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. But the video is clearly the work of AI, and is being shared widely by known disinformation accounts. While Iran's semi-official state media Mehr has reported that Iranian strikes struck Ben Gurion airport in Israel's largest city on Sunday, those reports have not been verified. We also detected online users falsely linking old videos of unrelated events to the current strikes. A video showing what appears to be a residential building engulfed in flames was shared by Al Jazeera's Arabic profile on X, with the caption: 'Massive fires in Tel Aviv sites as a result of the Iranian missile attack.' But a reverse image search shows that the same video was first circulating online in early May, meaning it cannot show damage caused by the current exchange of fire. A Facebook user shared the video on 10 May, claiming it shows the impact of an airstrike of fire between India and Pakistan. A brief but intense exchange of fire between those two countries took place from 7 to 10 May, but we were unable to verify whether the video in question shows damage resulting from those attacks. Another widely shared image claims to show an explosion at an Iranian oil refinery caused by an Israeli strike. We used a reverse image search to find that the picture in fact comes from a video showing a November 2020 explosion at a petrochemical plant in Ilam, Iran. The explosion was widely covered by Iranian media, and has no link to the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv. Israeli strikes have nonetheless struck key energy infrastructure including the South Pars gas field in southern Iran and the Shahran oil depot in Tehran.
Euronews
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Verifying videos claiming to show Israeli and Iranian strikes
As Israel and Iran exchange fire for the fourth consecutive day, unverified footage of missile and drone attacks targeted at both countries is spreading virally online. Euronews' fact-checking and verification team, Euroverify, has been taking a closer look at some of those videos in order to verify their authenticity and corroborate the location of strikes. Verifying such footage is crucial in this conflict. It allows us to debunk false reports and ensure the footage used in our reporting is authentic. Videos generated using artificial intelligence and falsely claiming to show Israeli and Iranian strikes are spreading virally online. This video, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok, claims to show destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But our analysis shows that the video has been clearly generated using AI. A closer look reveals that artificial-looking rays are emanating from one of the cooling towers. A fire truck can also be seen on the precipice of a crater while some of the emergency workers seem to disappear into thin air. Other AI-generated videos spreading virally claim to show damage caused to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport by an Iranian strike. Euroverify detected several versions of the videos circulating on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. But the video is clearly the work of AI, and is being shared widely by known disinformation accounts. While Iran's semi-official state media Mehr has reported that Iranian strikes struck Ben Gurion airport in Israel's largest city on Sunday, those reports have not been verified. We also detected online users falsely linking old videos of unrelated events to the current strikes. A video showing what appears to be a residential building engulfed in flames was shared by Al Jazeera's Arabic profile on X, with the caption: 'Massive fires in Tel Aviv sites as a result of the Iranian missile attack.' But a reverse image search shows that the same video was first circulating online in early May, meaning it cannot show damage caused by the current exchange of fire. A Facebook user shared the video on 10 May, claiming it shows the impact of an airstrike of fire between India and Pakistan. A brief but intense exchange of fire between those two countries took place from 7 to 10 May, but we were unable to verify whether the video in question shows damage resulting from those attacks. Another widely shared image claims to show an explosion at an Iranian oil refinery caused by an Israeli strike. We used a reverse image search to find that the picture in fact comes from a video showing a November 2020 explosion at a petrochemical plant in Ilam, Iran. The explosion was widely covered by Iranian media, and has no link to the ongoing conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv. Israeli strikes have nonetheless struck key energy infrastructure including the South Pars gas field in southern Iran and the Shahran oil depot in Tehran. A football pass between a prisoner and a magistrate. A volleyball match between penitentiary wardens and regular citizens. It may sound like an unlikely sporting event but this unprecedented initiative at Rome's Rebibbia prison saw inmates break the monotony of the daily routine and take part in a mini-Olympiad known as the "Games of Hope" Within the walls of one of Italy's most crowded prisons - Rebibbia is home to 1,550 inmates, an unexpected space opened up. Not an escape or a celebration, but a gesture of trust. Four teams, made up of inmates, agents, magistrates and regular citizens, shared the field, crossing the lines that separate them every day. It may have been a small event, only 28 of the prison's inmates took part, but it was full of meaning. The games were a collaboration between the John Paul II Foundation for Sport, the Department of Prison Administration (DAP) and the magistrates' network, Sport and Legality. And even after its debut instalment, the games are being hailed as one of the most significant initiatives to take place in Italy's prison system in years. And it is no coincidence that the event debuted in Rebibbia, where on 26 December Pope Francis opened a Holy Door at the prison, part of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope and a sign of hope and inclusion for all, including those who are incarcerated. The Games of Hope featured four sports teams competing in various events, including football, volleyball, athletics, table tennis, table football and chess. "Like all crazy ideas, that of the Games of Hope was born during the Paris Olympics, where we presented the book Father Henri Didon - A Dominican at the Origins of Olympism. It is to him that we owe the Olympic motto, 'Citius Altius Fortius.' We thought of bringing Olympic values to where it is hardest to enter, to prison," said Daniele Pasquini, the president of the John Paul II Foundation for Sport. In the north-eastern quadrant of Rome, between the suburbs of Pietralata and Casal de' Pazzi, Rebibbia stands as an island in itself. It is not just a prison, but an entire citadel of detention. Its modern form was created in 1971 as a response to the overcrowding of the Regina Coeli prison. Today, it houses around 2,700 people, making it one of the largest and most complex detention centres in Italy. The facility is divided into four main sections: the New Complex Raffaele Cinotti, the Third House, the Reclusion House and the Women's Institute. In total, about 1,927 men and 352 women are housed there, with the percentage of foreign inmates close to 13% among men and over 40% among women. Those numbers speak of a fragmented prison population, often marked by people from the margins of society and feeling a sense of personal fragility. More than half of the inmates are in the prison for crimes such as theft, robbery and fraud. Around 40% are in prison for more serious crimes, like assault and murders. But one of the most significant data concerns drug addiction: 30-35% are imprisoned for drug-related crimes or have a history of addiction that has influenced their life choices. Behind every statistic lies a story. Small-time drug dealers convicted as big-time traffickers, women entering a guilty plea to protect a violent or guilty partner, and young people with no real alternative other than the street. For many, prison is not an exception, but a passage already foreseen in the script of their lives. Rebibbia too suffers from the overcrowding that afflicts the entire Italian prison system. On a national level, with a regulatory capacity of approximately 51,000 places, the prison population exceeds 62,000. In mixed cells, there is a lack of living space, activities are reduced and access to care is often minimal. In this context, the Games of Hope were much more than a sporting event. The president of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Giovanni Malagò, who took part in a game of table tennis, said: "It was an amazing initiative and it was important to be there, to touch, to see with one's own eyes, beyond all expectations. I really liked the idea of this multidisciplinary tournament." Today in Italy, more than 60% of people who leave prison end up back behind bars. However, for those who manage to secure a stable job, recidivism rates drop to 1%. That is why moments like the Games of Hope have a value that extends far beyond the day itself: they offer genuine opportunities for responsibility, meaningful relationships and dignity. "The Games of Hope represent a moment of encounter between institutions, the prison world and civil society, and the beginning of a path to be taken together," said the judge for preliminary investigations at the Court of Velletri, Fabrizio Basei, founder of the magistrates' network Sport and Legality. Rebibbia is a place that concentrates the contrasts of our time: justice and revenge, punishment and possibility, despair and humanity. It was the prison of Cosa Nostra boss Totò Riina, but also the prison-workshop of writer Goliarda Sapienza. Inside, the shadows are many, but there is no lack of light. And sometimes that light starts with a half-day of sport.
