Viral video of American USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier destroyed by Iran

RATING JUSTIFICATION

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan analysed the video for visual discrepancies and conducted its forensic analysis with AI-detection tools.

Multiple users on various social media platforms have been sharing a video since March 1, 2026, allegedly showing American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln being destroyed by Iran during the ongoing conflict between the two countries. However, the video is AI-generated.

Israel and the United States launched joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026 and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, significantly escalating tensions in the Middle East. Iran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases.

As a part of the retaliation, Iran said on March 1 that it had attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with four ballistic missiles.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 1, a pro-Iranian account shared an alleged video of the destroyed Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier on Instagram with the following caption: “Breaking news: Iran sinks aircraft carriers.”

The post was liked by 63,000 users.

The same video was also shared by digital media outlet RKM on X with the caption, “Just in: Iranian missiles have sunk USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.” The post gained 7.6 million views, and 28,000 users liked it.

A Turkish user also shared the same video in a similar context with the following caption: “In the Persian Gulf, a US aircraft carrier was sunk.”

The post garnered 4.5m views.

Another account shared the same video on X, questioning the authenticity of the video. The post accumulated 6m views.

The same video with a similar caption was further shared on Facebook, YouTube, and X as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively gaining more than 310,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.

A keyword search was conducted to corroborate whether any credible mainstream international, Iranian or US news outlets had shared or reported on the video, but yielded no results.

The search, however, led the team to a news report by Anadolu Agency, dated March 1. “US denies Iranian claim USS Abraham Lincoln was struck by ballistic missiles,” the headline reads. It stated that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had claimed to have targeted the carrier with four ballistic missiles, but the US Central Command denied the claims and termed them a “lie”.

Similar reports were carried by other media outlets as well, such as Express Tribune, Al Arabiya English and Middle East Monitor.

When iVerify Pakistan critically analysed the content, it found several discrepancies, such as the audio in the clip lacks the expected rotor blade noise and wind interference that would typically be present in footage recorded from a helicopter.

The fighter jets appear to be floating unnaturally on the water’s surface, which is physically implausible.

Furthermore, the aircraft shown also lacks the defined structural features and proportions of real fighter jets, further indicating visual distortion or fabrication.

AI-detection tools also indicated that the video was likely AI-generated. Sightengine assessed it as 56 per cent AI-generated, Detect Video flagged it at 58pc and TruthScan identified it as 49pc likely to be AI-generated.

An audio forensic analysis of the video was also conducted, which determined that the audio was 92.5pc likely to be fake.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows the American USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier destroyed by Iran is false.

The video is AI-generated.