April 25, 2026 | 01:00 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video claiming that the Iranian military had captured U.S. troops was uploaded to Facebook [archive] on April 4, 2026.
The video's narrator says that the Iranian military has been preparing for this moment for a long time. "The international Tasnim news agency reports that at least one million Iranian military personnel are ready to confront any number of U.S. troops that land in Persia or Iran today," said the narrator in Indonesian.
Is it true that the video is related to Iran capturing U.S. troops?
FACT CHECK
Tempo verified the content using reverse image searches, AI detection tools, and credible media reports. The results showed that the video compilation of photos is AI-generated.
As of the publication of this article, the United States has not launched a ground attack on Iran. However, in April 2026, the Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump was considering additional strikes or a ground operation if the ceasefire did not hold.
Photos Identified as AI-Generated
After analyzing the visuals of the photo collage, Tempo discovered several oddities. First, the way the handcuffed soldiers' hands are stacked appears unnatural and irregular.
Second, either the handcuffs are not secured to the wrists or the chains are broken. Third, the soldiers' shadows do not match their poses. Even though they are lined up closely, their shadows appear spaced out.
These irregularities are identical to those of AI products. The Hive Moderation detection tool confirmed this finding by giving the photo a 96.6 percent probability of being an imitation product.
The AI or Not tool concluded with 81 percent certainty that the photo was created by AI.
The same tool detected another photo with an 91 percent AI-generated.
Meanwhile, the Truthscan device received the "AI Probability" label, scoring 53 percent.
Hive Moderation detected elements of AI in the photo of the prisoner in the desert with 89.6 percent certainty, while Truthscan gave a probability of 94 percent.
CONCLUSION
Tempo's verification concluded that the video of Iran capturing U.S. troops is false.
TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM
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