Media
Houthis use image from Hollywood film to support carrier attack claim
The group has been flooding social media with misleading photos and false claims of naval victories as it struggles to conceal its military losses.
![Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree speaks during a rally in Sanaa on January 10. [Mohammed Huwais/AFP]](/gc1/images/2025/04/15/50000-yahya-saree-houthis-600_384.webp)
By Faisal Abu Bakr |
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."
Hamas to show the state of Palestinians
Nice
This is beautiful
May the peace, blessings, and mercy of God be upon you
This should be from last year. This has changed a lot and we are in the year 2025.
I thank you very much for what you have done and I bow to the right of the Palestinian people. It is important for you to do your work and show your support. We are obligated to do so, O Yemen.
The Palestinian's work
Nice, because everything can be solved with understanding and calm
Tranquility from our Lord gives patience to His servants
Life gives us, patience is good
Without prayer life has no meaning
The Houthis are a hypocritical group of sons of Abdullah bin Saba who allied with the Magians to strike their brothers in the homeland and their neighbors like Saudi Arabia are implementing an Iranian project for the benefit of Iran. They are sons of pleasure marriages and come from the bad seeds, God forbid. So look at them and how God dealt with them because of their filth.
God restores the right for the oppressed
Useful
I ask for your help, my brothers. May God protect you.
We will support everyone who asks for our help
This is how all Arabs are, they attribute their failure to dreams that they see as reality.
Thank you for your help.
We were all created from clay, not fire.
Helpful information
The moral is that patience is good
A beautiful name after our Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace
Helpful
Here in Lebanon, Sheikh Naim, and the majority of Hezbullah and its supporters live on another planet, detachec from reality. They want to fight and fight, and we've lost half of the south, and half of the southern suburbs have been destroyed, but they claim we won. May God help us.
May Allah guide all the nation of Muhammad