Amid increasing misinformation stemming from the Iran-Israel conflict in June 2025, an image purportedly depicting a U.S. B-2 fighter jet downed by Iran circulated the internet.
The original X post (archived) sharing the image received more than 886,000 views, as of this writing, and the claim also spread elsewhere on X (archived) and TikTok (archived). The caption read: "BREAKING: 'Journalist' Sulaiman Ahmed reports: 'Iran has downed a U.S. B-2 bomber.'"
(X user @LionsOfZion_ORG)
Dozens of users in the comments asserted the image showed signs of being generated by artificial intelligence. Those users are correct: The image is a fake.
There are several things wrong with the image, aside from the fact that the image's creator confirmed in a reply to a comment that the image was "sarcastic" (archived). In another comment (archived), X user wrote: "Wow. Sorry, friends. But did I really need to clarify it was fake?" We reached out to the account seeking comment on the image's creation, and will update this story if we receive a response.
There are several factors that give away the AI-generated nature of this image.
First, the scale is inaccurate. The aircraft appears significantly smaller than an actual B-2 bomber, as seen in the image below of a B-2 jet next to two people.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Second, there are no shadows underneath the flag or sign behind the soldiers, and the signpost does not touch the ground, as seen below:
(X user @LionsOfZion_ORG)
Third, the amount of damage and the fact that the bomber's landing gear is extended deviates from what would likely happen in reality. If Iranian forces had downed such an aircraft, the damage would likely appear significantly more severe.
Lastly, AI-detection software Hive determined there was a 54.5% chance the image was AI-generated.
(Hive.com)
In June 2025, we also reported on a fake image of an Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down by Iran.