Last updated on April 30th, 2026
Editor's Note
In April 2026, a video showing a large crowd marching through a street while holding up their phone flashlights spread across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The video amassed millions of views, with many claiming it showed Iranians defending their country’s energy infrastructure. Fact Hunter found that the video was AI-generated, not real footage. In this edition, Fact Hunter walks you through the verification process.
Claim
On April 8, 2026, social media user @CSB News USA posted a video on Facebook and TikTok showing a large crowd marching through a street while holding up their phone flashlights. The Bengali caption reads: “A striking scene: Iranian people have taken to the streets and gathered in front of power plants. Their sole objective is to safeguard the nation’s energy infrastructure and resist potential American and Israeli attacks. Tensions are extremely high, yet this public presence sends a powerful message: ‘We are ready.’” Bengali text overlaying the video reads: “Wherever there is a threat of attack, there is a wave of Iranian people.”
The video was also shared across Instagram and YouTube. By April 19, 2026, it had amassed over 8.7 million combined views and nearly 70,000 likes across these platforms.
Fact Check
1. Source Analysis
The video included a watermark for Instagram user @elnaz555, belonging to an artist named Elnaz Mansouri, who had posted a very similar video in January 2026. Mansouri stated in a post that the video was generated using artificial intelligence to create a fictional scenario and was not intended to depict real-world events.
2. Visual Analysis
Close examination of the footage reveals several common artifacts associated with AI-generated video content:
(1) Distorted Shadows:
- A frame-by-frame comparison shows that the shadows in the scene shift inconsistently. There are sudden, unnatural changes in shadow direction between frames, which violates real-world physics.
(2) Warped Building Walls:
- The walls of buildings in the background display noticeable distortions, particularly in the way surfaces curve unnaturally.
(3) Unnatural Light Halos:
- The light reflections around the people and buildings appear as smooth, unnatural halos, rather than behaving like real light sources in a night-time environment.
(4) Inconsistent Window Lighting:
- Contradictory lighting appears across the building windows in the footage, with some panes reflecting light while others remain dark, a scenario that does not occur naturally and undermines the video’s credibility.
3. AI Detection Tool Results
The footage was analyzed using professional AI detection tools.
TruthScan’s analysis revealed a 100% probability that this video was AI-generated, while InVID-WeVerify’s indicated a 99% likelihood that the video was AI-created.
4. Account Analysis
“CSB News USA” maintains accounts across multiple mainstream social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and YouTube, along with its own website (csbnews.us). Among these, TikTok and Facebook are its primary platforms, with approximately 96.2K and 790K followers respectively. The account claims to be a US-based international news agency, yet its TikTok location is set to Dhaka, Bangladesh. LinkedIn shows it has 2–10 employees, and its content is published primarily in Bengali and English.
Background
The claim circulated during a period of sharply escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.
On April 1, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump stated in a prime-time national address that if no agreement was reached with Iran, the United States would carry out “major strikes” against Iranian power plants and other energy facilities. He also said that the U.S. was monitoring these sites via satellite and warned that any perceived movement could trigger immediate U.S. missile strikes with “devastating” consequences.
On April 6, Trump reiterated the threat during a White House press briefing, asserting that U.S. forces could destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran within hours. He described ongoing ceasefire proposals as insufficient.
On April 7, according to a report from Lianhe Zaobao, Iranian state media released photos showing citizens forming human chains at power plant facilities, described as acting as “human shields” to protect the plants, and senior Iranian officials also stated that they were prepared to sacrifice their lives.
The AI-generated video was posted on April 8. The preceding days’ events provided a context in which the video could be misinterpreted by some viewers as a real-time response by the Iranian public to the geopolitical developments.
Verdict
AI-generated.
Conclusion
Multiple lines of evidence—including the original creator’s own statement, visual anomalies, and two AI detection tools—independently confirm that the viral video of a crowd marching with phone flashlights is AI-generated. The video was created for dramatic effect, not as documentation of real events. Viewers are encouraged to verify visual content using reliable tools and authoritative sources before sharing.
Have a questionable video or claim? Submit it to Fact Hunter’s investigation team at [therealfacthunter@outlook.com].
Primary Fact Checker: Han Yiming
Secondary Fact Checker: Lei Ting
Reference:
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/president-donald-trump-warns-iran-of-power-grid-strikes-if-no-deal-is-reached-read-full-text-of-trump-speech-on-iran-war-middle-east-conflict-11299810
https://time.com/article/2026/04/06/iran-rejects-ceasefire-as-trump-deadline-looms-and-strikes-escalate/
https://www.rmzxw.com.cn/c/2026-04-07/3897228.shtml
https://thedissent.news/digital-investigations/awami-league-amplifies-misinformation-citing-suspicious-website-as-us-media
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/world/story20260408-8857558
