--- title: "AI-generated videos circulating on social media have definitively confirmed that Iran shot down and destroyed multiple Israeli F-35 stealth fighters during Operation Roaring Lion, shattering Israeli air dominance and proving Iran successfully repelled the joint US-Israel assault." description: "No Israeli F-35 aircraft were shot down during Operation Roaring Lion. The videos are AI-generated fabrications produced by Iran's regime-linked media apparatus to manufacture a false narrative of military success for domestic consumption — while in reality, Israeli F-35I \"Adir\" fighters were shooting down Iranian aircraft over Tehran." url: "https://hasbara.co.il/facts-myths/ai-generated-videos-circulating-on-social-media-have-definitively-confirmed-that-iran-shot-down-and-destroyed-multiple-israeli-f-35-stealth-fighters-during-operation-roaring-lion-shattering-israeli-air-dominance-and-proving-iran-successfully-repelled-the-joint-us-israel-assault" type: "fact-check" locale: "en" published: "2026-07-10T09:04:04.167Z" updated: "2026-07-10 09:05:43" tags: ["operation roaring lion", "iran propaganda", "ai disinformation", "f-35 adir", "israeli air force", "fake videos", "iranian state media", "information warfare", "carlos"] --- # AI-generated videos circulating on social media have definitively confirmed that Iran shot down and destroyed multiple Israeli F-35 stealth fighters during Operation Roaring Lion, shattering Israeli air dominance and proving Iran successfully repelled the joint US-Israel assault. *No Israeli F-35 aircraft were shot down during Operation Roaring Lion. The videos are AI-generated fabrications produced by Iran's regime-linked media apparatus to manufacture a false narrative of military success for domestic consumption — while in reality, Israeli F-35I "Adir" fighters were shooting down Iranian aircraft over Tehran.* ## Myth AI-generated videos circulating on social media have definitively confirmed that Iran shot down and destroyed multiple Israeli F-35 stealth fighters during Operation Roaring Lion, shattering Israeli air dominance and proving Iran successfully repelled the joint US-Israel assault. ## Fact No Israeli F-35 aircraft were shot down during Operation Roaring Lion. The videos are AI-generated fabrications produced by Iran's regime-linked media apparatus to manufacture a false narrative of military success for domestic consumption — while in reality, Israeli F-35I "Adir" fighters were shooting down Iranian aircraft over Tehran. ## מיתוס AI-generated videos circulating on social media have definitively confirmed that Iran shot down and destroyed multiple Israeli F-35 stealth fighters during Operation Roaring Lion, shattering Israeli air dominance and proving Iran successfully repelled the joint US-Israel assault. ## עובדה No Israeli F-35 aircraft were shot down during Operation Roaring Lion. The videos are AI-generated fabrications produced by Iran's regime-linked media apparatus to manufacture a false narrative of military success for domestic consumption — while in reality, Israeli F-35I "Adir" fighters were shooting down Iranian aircraft over Tehran. The claim is a textbook Iranian information operation — not a battlefield report. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) explicitly documented that "Iranian state media are falsely reporting that the Iranian military shot down Israeli F-35 aircraft, using AI-generated images to support the claims," identifying it as a deliberate attempt by the regime to appear capable in the face of Israel's demonstrated military superiority. Not a single verified military or intelligence source from any neutral country has confirmed the loss of an Israeli F-35 during Operation Roaring Lion. The viral videos are synthetic fabrications, not documentation of real events. ## The Facts About Operation Roaring Lion Operation Roaring Lion, launched in early 2026, was the largest coordinated air operation in Israeli Air Force history, involving **approximately 200 fighter jets** in the opening wave alone. Far from being repelled, Israeli aircraft opened a sustained air corridor over Tehran within the first 24 hours of the campaign. In a documented milestone for the Israeli Air Force, an IDF **F-35I "Adir" shot down an Iranian fighter jet over Tehran** — the opposite of what Iranian propaganda claims. Major General Tomer Bar, commander of the Israeli Air Force, commended the pilots involved in this action. - **No confirmed Israeli F-35 losses** have been reported by any verified military source, Israeli, American, or neutral, throughout the operation. - The only confirmed manned aircraft loss attributable to Iranian fire was a **US Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle** — not an Israeli F-35 — downed on April 3, 2026, weeks into the campaign. - BBC Verify independently identified the Israel-Iran conflict as generating **"the first time we've seen generative AI be used at scale during a conflict,"** with accounts repeatedly sharing AI-generated images that "exaggerate the success" of Iranian forces. - Iran's IRGC-linked media simultaneously fabricated data leaks claiming to expose Israeli pilot identities — a disinformation effort FDD debunked by showing statistical impossibilities in the fabricated spreadsheets. ## Iran's Documented Pattern of Military Fabrication This is not the first time Iran has invented battlefield victories for its domestic audience. FDD has documented a consistent Iranian regime practice of exaggerating the impact of its own military and cyber operations to boost morale at home and create the impression of parity with Israel and the United States. During the April 2024 Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel — the first direct Iranian strike on Israeli territory — Iranian state media circulated fabricated footage while regime officials issued contradictory statements. The IRGC's Intelligence Organization went so far as to threaten Iranian citizens who posted "pro-Israeli content" on social media, a telling sign of how afraid the regime is of its own population knowing the truth. The F-35 specifically has long been a psychological target for Iranian propaganda precisely because it represents a capability Iran cannot match. Israel's F-35I "Adir" fleet — customized with Israeli-made electronic warfare systems and sensors unavailable to any other F-35 operator in the world — is universally regarded as one of the most capable combat aircraft on Earth. Claiming to have destroyed it serves a clear psychological purpose: it tries to neutralize the platform's deterrent value without having to actually defeat it. ## Why This Disinformation Is Dangerous Propaganda dressed as battlefield evidence does not merely mislead. It is operationally designed to erode confidence in Israeli and Western military deterrence, encourage Iran's regional proxies, and discourage Western publics and governments from supporting Israel's legitimate right to self-defense. When AI-generated fiction circulates as "confirmed" footage, it pollutes the information environment that policymakers, journalists, and citizens rely upon to assess conflict. The regime of Iran — which sponsors Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — has a direct strategic interest in convincing the world that its military is more formidable than it is. Every share of an AI fabricated video advances that agenda. The factual record, corroborated by independent analysts, wire services, and official statements, is unambiguous: Israel's F-35 fleet performed its mission; Iran's air force did not repel the assault; and the "evidence" of downed stealth fighters exists only in artificially generated pixels. ### ראיות ומקורות מוסמכים - "Iran Launches Counterattacks in Cyberspace" — Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Ari Ben Am & Annie Fixler, June 17, 2025. Directly documents Iranian state media falsely claiming F-35 shootdowns using AI-generated images. Available at: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2025/06/17/iran-launches-counterattacks-in-cyberspace/ - "Tehran Is Fabricating Data Leaks About Israeli Pilots" — Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), June 17, 2025. Documents IRGC-linked newspaper fabricating Israeli Air Force pilot data, with statistical proof of falsification. Available at: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/policy_briefs/2025/06/17/tehran-is-fabricating-data-leaks-about-israeli-pilots/ - "'Adir' in the Sky: The F-35 Arrives in Israel" — Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), 2016. Provides authoritative technical and operational assessment of Israel's F-35I Adir capabilities, including stealth, AESA radar, and Israeli-customized electronic warfare integration. Available at: https://www.inss.org.il/publication/adir-in-the-sky-the-f-35-arrives-in-israel/ - "The Islamic Republic's Internal Messaging Chaos" — Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), Janatan Sayeh, April 19, 2024. Documents Iran's pattern of failed disinformation campaigns and contradictory internal messaging during military crises, establishing the regime's track record of fabrication. - "U.S.-Israel Strategic Cooperation: Joint Air Force Training" — Jewish Virtual Library. Documents the depth of US-Israel F-35 interoperability and joint training exercises underpinning the operational cooperation seen in Roaring Lion. Available at: https://jewishvirtuallibrary.org/us-israel-joint-air-force-training ### כיסוי תקשורתי - "Video shows IDF F-35I 'Adir' shooting down Iranian fighter jet over Tehran" — Fox News, March 5, 2026. Reports the documented IDF F-35I air-to-air kill over Tehran, directly contradicting Iranian claims of F-35 vulnerability. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/world/video-shows-idf-f-35i-adir-shooting-down-iranian-fighter-jet-over-tehran - "The future of war? US-Israel blitz on Iran unveils next-gen allied combat" — Fox News, March 5, 2026. Details the scale and success of Operation Roaring Lion, including the opening of an air corridor over Tehran within 24 hours. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/world/future-war-us-israel-blitz-iran-unveils-next-gen-allied-combat - "Israel-Iran conflict unleashes wave of AI disinformation" — BBC News / BBC Verify, June 20, 2025. Independently identifies the Israel-Iran conflict as the first large-scale use of generative AI in wartime disinformation, finding accounts systematically sharing fabricated imagery to exaggerate Iranian military success. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k78715enxo