Image of Palestinian flag displayed at football match is generated by AI

"Thank you for your support, Athletico Madrid in Spain," says the caption of an Instagram post with more than 9,000 likes from October 20, 2023, which appears to show the Palestinian flag held above a crowd of spectators in a large stadium.

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Screenshot of an Instagram post, taken October 25, 2023

Other versions of the picture were shared widely in multiple languages on Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, accompanied by claims that the image depicted fans of the Spanish football club Atletico Madrid, showing their support for Palestinians as Israel bombs Gaza in response to the surprise attack by Hamas that killed at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Following the deadliest attack in the country's history, Israel cut off Gaza's normal supply corridors for water, food and other necessities. Fewer than 70 relief trucks have entered the impoverished territory since the war began.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said October 26 that more than 7,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel's relentless bombardments, mostly civilians and many of them children.

Demonstrators around the world have taken to the streets to publicly show support for both sides, but the image of fans lifting the Palestinian flag at a football match does not depict a real event and appears to have been generated by AI, an AFP analysis found. 

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Screenshot of a Facebook post, taken October 25, 2023

AI-generated elements

A reverse image search of the image reveals the earliest posting of the picture by an account on X called "Atletico Universe" on October 18 at 1138 GMT (archived here). The profile's description says it publishes content dedicated to the Spanish team, but it does not appear to be affiliated with Atletico Madrid, which has its own page on X.

AFP contacted the "Atletico Universe" account for comment but a response was not forthcoming. 

A closer look shows details typical of AI-generated images, which AFP has previously reported. For example, the people in the stands appear to have deformed hands and elongated arms.

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Screenshot of a picture shared on Facebook, taken October 20, 2023, with elements highlighted by AFP

Additional elements signal that the image is not authentic.

• The lines indicating the penalty area on the pitch do not seem to meet.
• The screen visible above the Palestinian flag does not appear to show the current insignia for Atletico Madrid, which was updated in 2023. It is missing the stars in the upper section and the symbols within the crest are garbled and do not appear legible.

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Screenshot of an image shared on X, taken October 20, 2023, with yellow circles added by AFP

The captions accompanying many of the posts claim the image depicts Atletico Madrid fans, implying the crowd would be of local supporters at the club's home stadium, Civitas Metropolitano. However, the picture shows a rectangle-shaped roof, while the stadium in Madrid has an elliptical opening with no sharp corners.

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Screenshots of an image on X and the Atletico Madrid website, both taken October 20, 2023, with elements of the roofs outlined by AFP

No matches in Madrid

Atletico Madrid did not play between October 8 and October 21, the period when this supposed demonstration was claimed to have occurred (archived here). On October 8, the team played at its home stadium against Real Sociedad in a Spanish La Liga championship series match. 

The team played again on October 21 against Celta Vigo at the Estadio de Balaidos in Vigo, Spain.

On October 25, Atletico played Celtic Football Club in a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League match in Glasgow, where players wore black armbands in what the Scottish club said was "a show of respect and support for all those affected by the conflict."

Fans waved thousands of Palestinian flags during the match, despite the club -- which has twice been fined by UEFA when fans raised the standard -- requesting banners related to the conflict not be displayed at Celtic Park. 

AFP photos from the event show some fans in Glasgow carried Palestinian flags, but none as large as the one depicted in the misleading image on social media could be seen.

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Supporters hold Palestinian flags as they cheer prior to the start of the UEFA Champions League football match between Celtic and Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park stadium in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 25, 2023 (AFP / ANDY BUCHANAN)

Find more of AFP's reporting misinformation related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict here.