AI-generated images of Iranian footballers praying at World Cup mislead online
- Published on June 24, 2026 at 04:01
- 2 min read
- By Rasheek MUJIB
Iran has entered the World Cup under the shadow of war in the Middle East but images shared online purportedly showing Iranian players praying on the football pitch are AI-generated. The pictures contain visual inconsistencies indicative of synthetic content and were flagged as made with OpenAI tools. An AFP photographer who covered Iran's recent matches also confirmed the scene of worship did not happen at the pitch.
"On the World Cup stage, the Iranian football team demonstrated not only their love for football but also deep love and respect for the Quran," reads part of a Bengali-language Facebook post shared on June 15, 2026.
The post includes an image that appear to show Iranian players bowing down to touch the ground to pray -- known as sujud -- before the Quran.
Another image posted on Facebook on June 16 with a similar caption shows what appear to be Iranian players prostrate in a circle with the Quran at the centre.
Similar posts surfaced elsewhere on Facebook as Iran's first game ended in a 2-2 draw against New Zealand on June 15 (archived link).
The match, held in Los Angeles, took place amid uncertainty surrounding the squad's participation in the tournament due the war in the Middle East, which began in late February with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader (archived here and here).
Iran later played their second World Cup match on June 20, drawing 0–0 with Belgium (archived link).
Comments indicate social media users seemed to believe the images were real.
"O Allah, grant all the Muslims of the world to honour the Quran in this manner," wrote one user.
"Masha'Allah, Alhamdulillah; prayers for the Muslim country of Iran," another said.
But the images were made with AI and an AFP photographer who covered both of Iran's games said no Islamic prayer was performed during the matches.
AI-generated images
"The stadium seen in the viral photos is clearly not the Los Angeles stadium, as that stadium has permanent fixed roof/dome structure as well as the Infinity screen," AFP photographer Patrick Fallon said.
The images also contained irregularities typical of AI-generated visuals such as logos displaying the 2022 Qatar World Cup emblem, players wearing the same jersey numbers, and several jerseys labeled "Iranian" instead of player's names (archived link).
A further analysis of the images shows they were generated with OpenAI tools.
AFP has debunked other misinformation about the World Cup here, here and here.
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