In April 2026, an image spread online claiming to show a U.S. Air Force officer rescued in Iran after his jet was downed during the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
On April 3, two Air Force officers ejected from their F-15E fighter jet after it was hit by Iranian fire. The pilot was rescued soon after by an attack force of U.S. military helicopters and airplanes, while the weapons systems officer was extracted later by U.S. commandos in a mission carried out deep in Iranian territory, according to reports by The New York Times and other outlets.
Afterward, a purported photograph of the rescued officer spread online, showing a man holding a U.S. flag while surrounded by the soldiers who supposedly rescued him. The image spread on Facebook, X and Instagram with captions such as:
Thank God Trump is President. No soldiers left behind!! If it was Obama, Clinton or Biden this Hero would be captured or left for dead!! Easter miracle indeed!
(Facebook user Spring Hill Neighbors Hernando County FL)
The above image is not authentic and was created or altered using artificial intelligence tools. As such, we rate this claim as fake.
A reverse image search on Google found no credible sources sharing the image. Instead, one of the early posts (since deleted) from April 5 on X noted in the description below the image that it was "Made with AI."
Looking closely at the image, we found other indicators that it was made with AI. For example, the skin shade of the smiling man's hand is noticeably different from his arm.
We also analyzed the image using AI-detection tools. Hive Moderation determined it was likely AI-generated. (Research shows AI-detection software is imperfect and readers should consider the tools' results with skepticism.)
Google Gemini's SynthID check, a tool that scans for embedded watermarks by Google's AI software, concluded that "SynthID was not detected in this image, which indicates it was not made with Google AI. However, this does not rule out the possibility that it was generated or altered using other AI tools or traditional editing software."
Additionally, President Donald Trump and his administration had not, as of this writing, released any official photographs of the rescued officers.
The rescue was secretive, like most missions of that nature. During a new conference, Trump asked Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about the number of men he sent on the mission. Caine replied, "Uhh, I'd love to keep that a secret."
Given how key details of the image show signs of AI generation and there are no authentic photographs of the rescued officers as well as the secretive nature of the rescue mission, we concluded the above image is clearly fake. Experts also told the news agency AFP that the image was fake.
Snopes has previously reported on a fake image claiming to show another secretive U.S. military mission, the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.