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A still from an AI-altered video purporting to be a BBC broadcast
FactCheck
Debunked: AI-altered video claims attack on Flydubai plane was Indian-Israeli plot to implicate Iran
There has been rampant speculation online that the whole ordeal was an Israeli “false flag” operation.
THE ATTACK ON board a Flydubai flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel this week has provided conspiracists and opportunists with a chance to muddy the waters and push their own agendas.
One claim shared on X, and seen hundreds of thousands of times, is that the incident was a joint Indian-Israeli intelligence service operation conducted with the aim of putting the blame on Iran.
The claim was accompanied by an AI-altered video that appeared to be a BBC News broadcast.
What we know
The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after one of the pilots allegedly attempted to crash it and kill everyone on board. There were 174 passengers on board.
Just over two hours into the flight, the plane suddenly began to descend rapidly, then rose, and then descended again before roughly levelling out, according to data from the Flightradar24 website.
The plane also transmitted “general emergency” and “unlawful interference” squawk codes, Flightradar24 reported.
The captain, Smit Machchhar from India, said he was stabbed by his copilot but managed to open the cockpit door to allow passengers and crew members inside.
Flydubai said the aircraft “was successfully secured by on-duty Flydubai crew travelling on the flight”. It is common practice for cabin crew and pilots to travel on board their airline’s flights.
Machchhar said the passengers and crew managed to subdue the attacker and pull the plane out of the dive.
It eventually landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, where the attacker was arrested.
His motivations and nationality are not yet known.
AI video
One example of disinformation spread about flight FZ1703 came in the form of an AI-altered video purporting to be a BBC news report.
The video and text in the post on X attempt to cast the incident as an attempted hijacking by an Indian man working on behalf of Indian and Israeli intelligence services.
It names the head of India’s foreign intelligence service, Parag Jain, and India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval. The post claims the two men “held secret talks with Mossad” (Israel’s foreign intelligence agency).
It said these talks produced a plan to hijack the plane and blame it on Iran, Israel’s main regional foe, “or other Arab states”.
The video itself is full of telltale signs that it is not authentic.
Firstly, the anchor – BBC journalist Sally Bundock – speaks with a slightly robotic voice in what sounds like an Australian accent.
Bundock is English and the audio from the fake video bears no resemblance to her actual voice.
Secondly, the way her lips move seems unnatural and there is some image blurring when she speaks.
The video seems to be a manipulated version of a real report by Bundock on a completely unrelated subject.
Another giveaway is the headline banner that runs across the bottom of the screen.
The size of the banner and the font of the text do not match the one used in BBC broadcasts.
And finally, the BBC logo in the top righthand corner partly obscures a watermark that demonstrates the video was made using an AI model.
The X account that originally posted the video and claim about an Indian-Israeli plot has since deleted it, but other accounts are still sharing it and presenting it as genuine.
One X user added to the original claim, saying that the plane’s captain was also involved in the conspiracy.
Machchhar has in fact been hailed as a hero after he reportedly fought off his copilot, who stabbed him, and helped to avert a disaster.
There has been rampant speculation online that the whole ordeal was an Israeli “false flag” operation or “psyop” (psychological operation), conducted with the aim of boosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s popularity ahead of a general election later this month.
A false flag refers to a state staging or claiming an attack against itself in order to achieve some aim, often to influence its own citizens.
One example of a false flag was a supposed attack against a US naval ship in the Gulf of Tonkin during the build-up to the American invasion of Vietnam.
A psyop, on the other hand, is an operation aimed at influencing a state’s enemies.
The copilot who allegedly stabbed his captain remains in Saudi custody and has not been named.
Netanyahu has claimed the copilot is from Oman and other Israeli leaders have said he intended to carry out an Islamic terrorist attack.
These claims have not been confirmed.
In a statement, Flydubai said: “At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation. We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.”
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