Fact Check: AI-Generated Image Falsely Claims Bangladesh Shot Down Indian Fighter Jet

A photo circulating on TikTok recently claimed to show the Bangladesh Air Force shooting down an Indian fighter jet. The video featuring this image has been viewed nearly 2.3 million times and has received reactions from about 93,000 different accounts.

However, an investigation by Rumor Scanner on Monday (May 5) revealed that the photo does not depict any actual incident involving the Bangladesh Air Force downing an Indian aircraft. Instead, it is an AI-generated image created using artificial intelligence technologies.

The investigation traced the same photo being used as a thumbnail in a video published on October 18 last year by a YouTube channel named "USMC." Additionally, the same image appeared in thumbnail form on two other YouTube channels— "Milsim AK47" on April 8 and "MRL TROOPS" on March 19.

Although the titles of these videos suggest air combat between two countries, an examination of the channels reveals that two of them specifically state in their "About" sections that they produce war-simulation gaming content. The third channel's video description mentions "Playing Arma 3," which is a military simulation video game. It is clear that these misleading thumbnails and titles are used as clickbait to attract more viewers.

Upon further review of the "USMC" channel, it was found that nearly all its video thumbnails use similar AI-generated visuals, none of which have been verified or reported by any reliable media outlets. Moreover, visual indicators suggest the images were produced using AI tools.

To confirm this further, the image in question was tested using an AI-content detection platform called "Sightengine," which determined there is a 99% probability that the image is AI-generated.

Importantly, an actual military incident of this scale, such as Bangladesh shooting down an Indian aircraft, would be widely reported by major national and international media. No such reports exist.

In conclusion, the claim that Bangladesh downed an Indian warplane is false. The image being circulated is AI-generated and has been misused to spread misinformation.