Accounts on social media circulated a report alleging that an Israeli plane landed at Damascus International Airport, asserting that it stopped in an area far from the passenger terminals and that black cars arrived around it, without either the Syrian or the Israeli side clarifying the reasons for the plane's stop. The accounts relayed speculation about an official Israeli delegation on board on an undeclared mission, and backed the allegations with a photo showing an Israeli plane on an airport runway presented as Damascus International Airport.
The fact-checking team followed the report and verified it by first contacting the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, where a source at the authority denied the report that an Israeli plane had landed at Damascus International Airport.
The team also subjected the photo attached to the report to technical analysis, and examining it with the Hive Detect tool showed that it had been edited using artificial intelligence tools.
Why is this claim misleading?
Digitally edited content: The claim was supported with a photo edited using artificial intelligence tools to show an Israeli plane on the runway of Damascus International Airport, while official sources denied that the incident took place, giving the report visual cover that has no basis.
