Misinformation regarding the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has been circulating on social media. Old photos and videos of the crash site have been repurposed, and false claims about the president’s miraculous escape have been spreading like wildfire. The fake video shared on social media has even recorded a whopping 2 million views.
BBC Fake Video Hits 2.1M Views
On the 19th (local time), following news of the accident, a video of a helicopter emitting black smoke after crashing into a mountainside spread on social media, claiming to show the crash involving President Raisi.
According to BBC and other sources on the 20th, the video that recorded over 2.1 million views was actually from a rescue helicopter that crashed in Georgia in 2022.
Another widely shared photo on social media that was viewed about 100,000 times, claimed to show the wreckage of President Raisi’s helicopter. BBC later reported that the image was from a helicopter crash in Morocco in 2019.
Reuters and EPA published photos of a helicopter crashed in the forest with an Iranian flag on its tail, claiming it was the crash site of President Raisi. However, both news outlets later retracted their claim.
Foreign media outlets requested the removal of these photos from their system, stating that the source was incorrect.
Rumors of a “Safe Helicopter Landing” Before Official Death Announcement
Before the Iranian government officially confirmed President Raisi’s death, rumors about his condition spread.
While the Iranian state TV continuously reported on the search and rescue efforts, social media buzzed with claims that the broadcasting station had paused its regular programs to announce the president’s death.
The Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, stirred up commotion by posting a photo on X of President Raisi standing near the helicopter, claiming that Raisi’s helicopter had landed safely.
According to BBC, the photo that Fars News Agency posted and deleted was taken at a flood rescue site in Iran in 2022.
In reports by the Australian Associated Press, additional rumors surfaced on social media that the pilot was an Israeli Intelligence agent who deliberately crashed the helicopter.
President Raisi and his entourage went missing after their helicopter crashed due to bad weather while returning to Tabriz from the Giz Galasi Dam completion ceremony in East Azerbaijan in Iran on the 19th.
The Iranian authorities conducted an overnight search operation, confirmed the crash site, and recovered the bodies on the 20th.
