AI News Monitor

A video showing a crowd of Palestinians at an aid distribution center in Rafah, Gaza, has ignited a firestorm of online speculation this week, with some social media users claiming the footage was generated using artificial intelligence. Experts, however, have since debunked those claims, verifying that the footage is authentic.

The clip, which first gained traction on Tuesday after being posted by Casey Akiva, a reporter with The Daily Wire, depicts a crowd approaching a food aid center in Rafah. A uniformed American contractor can be seen making a heart sign with his hands and waving toward the crowd, his face obscured. According to Akiva, witnesses on the ground said the crowd had broken through a Hamas checkpoint and spontaneously chanted “Thank you, America.”

The video rapidly went viral, with one post falsely alleging the footage was AI-generated amassing over 2.4 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter. Skeptics cited alleged anomalies in shadows, fencing, and crowd audio as supposed evidence of digital manipulation.

In response, Akiva issued a direct rebuttal, writing that “the video is not AI and anyone saying so is simply in denial of the facts.”

Verification experts have since backed her claim. BBC Verify journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh confirmed the location as the Tal al-Sultan aid distribution center—one of three major centers currently operating in Gaza—through satellite imagery and drone footage. Independent Israeli journalist Tal Hagin also authenticated the video using geolocation techniques, pointing to consistent visual markers, including a ruined building and distinct metal fencing visible both in the video and satellite photos.

Fact-checkers say the video’s legitimacy is not in question. “It would be hard for AI to replicate this level of environmental detail,” Hagin noted in his report.

Still, the incident underscores growing global concern over the misuse of artificial intelligence in misinformation campaigns, particularly in high-stakes conflict zones like Gaza, where public opinion and policy decisions can hinge on a single image or clip.

As humanitarian operations in the region face mounting logistical and political challenges, the debate over the authenticity of this video is a sobering reminder of how easily truth can become entangled in fiction online.