By Faisal Abu Bakr | 2025-04-15

ADEN -- The US Navy has exposed a year-long Houthi disinformation campaign that uses manipulated images and artificial intelligence (AI) to falsely claim successful attacks on US vessels in the Red Sea, officials and analysts said.

The revelation comes as the Iran-backed group continues to attack commercial shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global maritime trade and prompting retaliatory strikes from US and British forces.

Analysts say the Houthis are attempting to project a positive image of their struggling missile program while concealing mounting combat losses.

In one notable example, the Houthis circulated an image on social media that purports to show a fire aboard the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier.

The photo was actually a screenshot lifted from the trailer of a Hollywood film.

The image of an aircraft carrier being attacked was taken from the 2002 spy thriller, "The Sum of All Fears," which is part of the Jack Ryan film series and stars Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman. No Houthis are in the cast.

Another image posted and quickly deleted by Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree used AI to modify a 1960s maritime accident photo, claiming it showed a recent successful strike.

"While their supporters may totally believe these images, social media's widespread reach has made them accessible to broader scrutiny," political analyst Faisal Ahmed told Al-Fassel.

State of delusion

The Houthis' doctored images show the extent of their desperation, Deputy Justice Minister Faisal al-Majeedi told Al-Fassel.

He noted that numerous social media accounts affiliated with the Iranian regime and its so-called "axis of resistance" actively amplify these false narratives.

An investigation tracked statements Saree made about the fictional USS Truman attack, finding they were reposted at least 18 times, he said.

Saree's aim was "to present Houthi actions as heroic while covering up defeats, and to delude society into believing their missile force is effective when the opposite is true," al-Majeedi said.

"The Houthis, designated as a terrorist organization, are living in a state of delusion, as evidenced by their media performance," said Fahmi al-Zubairi, director general of the human rights office in Sanaa.

The group's media campaign can be seen as a calculated effort to maintain morale despite military setbacks, he told Al-Fassel.

"The group is not an effective fighting force, but rather a propaganda operation thriving on media discourse divorced from reality," al-Zubairi said.

"Its systematic disinformation campaigns target both local and international public opinion to obscure their clear failures on the ground."