Posts misrepresent far-right US influencer as captured Israeli soldier
- Published on March 16, 2026 at 08:03
- 2 min read
- By Sachin BAGHEL, AFP India
The United States and Israel's joint military operation against Tehran have seen them target Iran with missiles and airstrikes, contradicting social media posts sharing video they claim shows an Israeli soldier being captured in the Islamic republic. The footage in fact shows a far-right influencer being chased by counter protesters in the US state of Minnesota in January.
"Israeli soldier captured in Iran," reads the Hindi-language caption of a Facebook video shared on March 6, 2026.
The video shows a man who appears to be bleeding from the back of his head being escorted away from crowds on a city street.
The same footage was shared elsewhere on Facebook as the American and Israeli militaries conducted thousands of strikes in Iran as part of a sweeping military operation launched on February 28 (archived link).
Iran responded by targeting Israel and US interests across the region, as the war spread across the Middle East.
While the United States is reportedly sending reinforcements that could up options beyond the airborne campaign, there have been no reports -- as of March 14 at 0600 GMT -- of either American or Israeli troops deployed or captured within Iran.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to similar footage posted on Facebook on January 21 (archived link).
Its Spanish-language caption says the video shows influencer Jake Lang in the US state of Minnesota.
Subsequent keyword searches led to reports published on January 18 by The Guardian and the Reuters news agency that featured similar visuals (archived here and here).
According to The Guardian report, hundreds of counter protesters had drowned out Lang's attempt to hold "an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demonstration" in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Minneapolis (archived link).
"Lang appeared to be injured as he left the scene, with bruises and scrapes on his head," the report said.
AFP also distributed photos of Lang leaving the area.
Moreover, buildings in the falsely shared footage correspond to Google Street View imagery from Minneapolis (archived link).
AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation related to the conflict in Iran.
Copyright © AFP 2017-2026. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
