Video purported to show strike at Iran's Evin prison: what we know

Hostilities escalated on June 13, when Israel launched an aerial attack on sites in Iran after again accusing Tehran of pursuing a military nuclear program. Iran responded with a series of missile and drone strikes on Israel.

After nearly two weeks of deadly attacks, including US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, the countries accepted a ceasefire agreement on June 24.

Iranian authorities said certain parts of Evin prison, which rights groups say holds Western detainees, political prisoners and opposition members, were damaged. 

A June 23 post on X claims to show a six second, black and white video appearing to be CCTV footage of an explosion at the entrance of the prison. The video is filmed at a fixed angle, with text reading, "CAMERA 07" in the top left corner. 

AFP also found the video circulating on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Threads with additional posts in French, Spanish and Arabic garnering thousands of views and hundreds of interactions.

The video was used by multiple media outlets worldwide, including the BBC, Le Monde, NBC News, The Guardian, France24, The Times and the New York Post. But as doubts emerged around the footage it was removed from several media websites, accompanied by messages explaining uncertainties about its authenticity. 

"AFP's Middle East video editors saw the images on Monday but given their dubious nature decided against using them," said Louis Massie, central editor-in-chief for video. 

Tal Hagin, information warfare researcher for FakeReporter, an Israeli watchdog group, published a series of posts on X explaining his suspicions on June 23 (archived here). 

Image

A screenshot of one of Tal Hagin's posts on X arguing the image was AI-generated taken June 27, 2025

"At first, I believed it to be real," he told AFP June 25, but "once I began to receive several inquiries about its validity, I looked closer."

He determined the video was likely AI-generated, using a real image of the prison as a visual base. "That, combined with several minute errors in the footage -- door was blown off while simultaneously not blown off -- and comparing it to real aftermath footage of the strike on the prison, I concluded with a high degree it was fake."

Multiple inconsistencies

An AFP analysis of the video also suggested the content was AI-generated.

First, most professional video surveillance cameras automatically display the date and time on footage. This is not the case in the widely shared video. Even though an incorrect or different configuration of the date and time is theoretically possible, the absence of this information is dubious at an institution as secure as Evin prison.

Image

Screenshots taken June 25, 2025 of two videos circulating on social media which originate from a video surveillance camera

In place of the date and time, the circulating video displays in the top left corner text reading "CAMERA 07," but the country's dominant language is Farsi, not English.

The text is also suspicious as it lacks a relief or any shadow.

The text briefly disappears at the moment of the explosion, as if it were added during an editing process.

Image

Screenshots of the viral video taken June 25, 2025

The image is in black and white, while the explosion allegedly occurred during the day. Video surveillance cameras only switch to monochrome mode in low or infrared light. This monochrome processing could also be used to mask certain graphical inconsistencies. 

Two screenshots, taken one second apart, identify the facade of the building as the Evin prison. In the first image, we observe:

• A closed metal door

• A sign in Farsi

• Trees without leaves or bushes in the foreground

• The text "CAMERA 07" in the top left corner

In the second image, an explosion seems to happen. A cloud of smoke forms in front of the door, and a flash of light appears. But many elements are suspect:

• No reaction from the scenery: The trees and bushes in the foreground stay perfectly still, without the slightest tremor or perceptible movement.

• No visible fallout: No debris, nor shockwave, is identified in the image or on the ground

• Suspect light: The bright halo does not seem realistic -- it seems "glued" to the facade, without any bounce or reflection on the surrounding elements. 

• A white film appears stealthily in the shot, without a visible link to the scene -- an artifact typical of animation or poorly finalized synthesis.

Image

Two screenshots of the video taken at one second intervals, captured June 25, 2025

Moreover, no visible projection of debris or shockwave is identifiable between the two screenshots.

The door to the Evin prison was touched by an explosion, as seen in a video by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (archived here). But in all other images besides the purported CCTV footage, the entire building structure surrounding the door is on the ground, not only the door as seen in the viral video.

Using an archival image?

Another key element reinforced suspicions about the clip -- reverse image searches reveal its resemblance to an archive photo of the prison.

A comparison with a photo taken in 2023 (left photo below) shows a near-perfect match to the point of view, plants, sign, trees and enclosure wall (archived here). The strong similarity suggests this image was used as a base in the process of generation or manipulation by artificial intelligence.

The fact the plant elements are identical between the old photo and the purported current video further weakens the argument that the video shows an authentic scene.

Image

Comparison between a photo of the Evin prison from 2023 (left) and a screenshot of the viral video taken June 25, 2025

Moreover, the trees are sparce, which suggests the scene was filmed in winter.

The images circulated by Iranian media officials regarding the June 2025 strike on the Evin prison show lush greenery outside the walls.

Image

Screenshots taken by Tal Hagin on X

Architectural differences were also identified when comparing the video to recent photos.

The American disinformation watchdog NewsGuard has identified more than 50 sites and Telegram channels distributing deceptive content online discussing the conflict, including some related to influence operations by Iran, Russia and China.

Since the start of the Iran-Israel war, AFP has found an increase in content manipulated or generated by AI. You can find these articles and other fact checks related to the conflict here.