A leading UK fact-checking charity has exposed two significant pieces of viral misinformation circulating online, highlighting the ongoing challenges of verifying digital content. Full Fact, the UK's largest fact-checking organisation, compiled a round-up revealing a widely-shared clip purporting to show Iranian protests was actually filmed in Greece, while a separate video appearing to show a debate in the House of Commons was entirely generated by artificial intelligence.
Viral 'Iran Protests' Footage Traced to Greek Clashes
A video shared thousands of times across social media platforms, including X and Instagram, falsely claimed to depict recent anti-government protests in Iran. The dramatic clip showed individuals on a street hurling flaming projectiles, with fires engulfing cars and trees. One post, which garnered over 20,000 reactions and one million views, described it as showing "MASSIVE CROWDS MOVING THROUGH FIRES AND DEBRIS IN TEHRAN".
However, Full Fact's investigation traced the footage back to its true origin. The clip matches higher-quality video shared on Instagram on November 2 by an account based in Greece, before the latest wave of protests in Iran began. The location was identified as a street in Thessaloniki in northern Greece.
The footage corresponds with similar material from the video wire service Newsflare, which documented violent clashes in the early hours of November 2 between "hooded youths and police forces in Thessaloniki after a massive anti-system rap concert". This case underscores the difficulty in verifying events in Iran, where a government-enforced internet blackout and restrictions on foreign press have severely limited the flow of genuine footage and independent reporting.
AI-Generated Fake Depicts Fictional Commons Debate
In a separate but equally concerning case, a video that appeared to show a British MP questioning the government in Parliament was debunked as an AI fabrication. The clip, viewed millions of times, seemed to feature a male MP at the despatch box asking: "If the United States can conduct an operation in Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro, an elected president, and put him on trial in American courts, then why is it impossible to capture Benjamin Netanyahu from Israel and bring him before international court?"
The video, which included shots of MPs on the green benches and a man in the Speaker's chair, circulated online following the real-life seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by US forces on January 3. However, Full Fact confirmed the speaker is not a real MP, and his face does not match any currently serving member of the House of Commons.
Others in the video, including the figure in the Speaker's chair, are also AI creations. The current Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP, looks nothing like the man depicted. Furthermore, all three real Deputy Speakers are women. While a discussion about Maduro's arrest did occur in the Commons on January 5, the official transcript contains nothing resembling the AI-generated question.
The earliest version of the fake was found on TikTok, published on January 5, and bore a watermark from Sora, an AI text-to-video generator developed by OpenAI. This watermark was blurred out in subsequent shares. The account's bio stated the content was "AI generated and only for awareness and knowledge."
The Critical Need for Source Verification
These incidents highlight the sophisticated nature of modern misinformation. The combination of geopolitical tensions, such as those in Iran, and powerful, accessible AI tools creates a perfect storm for the rapid spread of false narratives. Full Fact emphasises the importance of checking that sources are trustworthy and verifiable before sharing content online. The charity provides a public toolkit with practical tips on how to identify potential bad information.
As AI generation technology becomes more advanced and widespread, the burden on social media users to critically assess the authenticity of videos and claims they encounter will only increase. These two cases serve as a stark reminder that not everything you see online is as it appears.
