Blazing warship photos falsely shared as 'Huthi attack on US aircraft' in 2024

Three old photos showing fires or explosions on warships have resurfaced online in social media posts falsely claiming they show the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier being attacked by Yemen's Huthi rebels in 2024. Washington has denied that any of its ships were damaged by the Huthis. The images have circulated in reports about unrelated incidents in 2015 and 2023.

"Breaking! USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier hit by Huthi missile, casualties unknown," read the simplified Chinese title of a video published on the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili on April 2, 2024.

The 20-second video -- viewed more than 210,000 times -- includes three photos of warships on fire or exploding, suggesting the aftermath of a missile attack.

Photos from the video resurfaced in Chinese posts after the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed they had launched a missile attack on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea on May 31, 2024.

Washington has not confirmed the aircraft carrier was targeted.

The Huthis, who control much of Yemen, have carried out scores of drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023, citing solidarity with Palestinians over the Israel-Hamas war.

US and British forces have responded with strikes against the rebels, who have since declared American and British interests to be targets as well.

Similar claims using old photos from the video were also shared on Bilibili here and on Weibo.

US defence officials had dismissed claims the ship had been damaged or struck, according to the Voice of America broadcaster (archived link).

The photos -- which predate reports of Huthi attacks in the vital maritime trade route -- show unrelated events.

Hawaii attack

A reverse image search on Google found the first photo -- seen in the video's opening three seconds -- was published by the American international news agency United Press International (UPI) in a report on January 14, 2023 (archived link).

"On January 14, 1969, a series of explosions aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise off Hawaii killed 27 men. File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy," read the photo caption.

According to the US Naval Institute's X post, the explosions caused a major fire that killed 28 sailors, injured 314, and destroyed 15 aircraft (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison of the falsely shared photo (left) and the UPI photo (right):

'Iran navy drills'

Through further reverse image and keyword searches, AFP found the second photo in the video was credited to Iran's Fars News Agency, affiliated with the country's Revolutionary Guard (archived link).

Published on February 25, 2015, the caption read: "Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard troops attacks a naval vessel during a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran on February 25, 2015.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guard began naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, just a few hundred kilometers away from Western ships involved in the fight against the Islamic State."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the falsely shared photo (left) and the photo on AFP's archives (right):

Other photos of the drill, dubbed "Great Prophet 9", were also credited to Fars news agency and published on the same day here, here and here.

AFP previously debunked posts shared in January 2024 that falsely claimed the photo showed a Greek ship "attacked by Yemen".

Another reverse image search found the third photo published by the Associated Press (AP) with credit to Tasnim News Agency -- Iran's semi-official news agency -- on February 25, 2015 (archived link).

According to the caption, it shows a replica of a US aircraft carrier exploded by the Revolutionary Guard's speedboats during large-scale naval drills near the entrance of the Persian Gulf, Iran.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the falsely shared photo (left) and the photo distributed by AP (right):

Iran staged naval exercises, dubbed "Great Prophet," in the Strait of Hormuz on February 25, 2015, AFP reported (archived link).

State television showed an attack by "high-precision missiles" fired from the coast, and a helicopter on a replica of an "American" aircraft carrier (archived link).

AFP debunked other false allegations of US ships being sabotaged by Huthi rebels in the Red Sea here and here.