Fact check: Protests against the Israel-Iran conflict?

The widespread and continuing attacks by Israel and Iran on each other's territories are worrying people around the world. Since Israel attacked Iran, and Iran hit back in retaliation, both countries have been targeting each other. 

At least 224 people have been killed in Iran, according to Iranian authorities, while human rights groups report significantly higher numbers, with at least 657 people killed. In Israel, officials report 24 deaths. Several thousand people were injured on both sides.

In the upcoming two weeks, US President Donald Trump plans to decide whether the US will join the conflict on Israel's side. 

But what do Israelis think about their country attacking Iran? A viral video allegedly shows what Israelis think of the war. 

Does this video show protests in Israel?

Claim: This video (archived here) allegedly shows hundreds of Israelis protesting against Israel's "war on Iran." People in the streets waving Israeli flags are shouting: "Stop the war. Iran, we are sorry. We want peace!" The video has been viewed more than 4.9 million times and shared on several social media platforms like Facebook, archived here.  

DW Fact check: Fake

This viral video of people protesting in Israel against the war with Iran is AI-generated Image: TikTok

Comments under the video like, "time for regime change in Israel," show that many social media users think the video is real. But it is not — it's AI-generated. Here's how we know.

First, look at people's mouth movements in the video. They look artificial and unrealistic. Some of their arms appear and disappear while they chant. Secondly, the quality of the video is quite poor, which makes it easier to believe it might be genuine.

Thirdly, if you look closely at the right hand corner of the video, you can see the watermark "Veo." This is a sign that the video was made with the Google AI tool, Veo3. 

In the video, you can see the watermark "Veo," which indicates that the video is AI-generated with Google's AI tool Veo3Image: TikTok

Experts like Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who specializes in digital forensics, have seen many fake videos created with this tool lately. 

"One simple tip-off ... is that all of these videos are either exactly eight seconds in length or composed of short (eights seconds or less) clips composited together," Farid wrote on the social media platform LinkedIn. "Why eight seconds? This is the current maximum length that Veo 3 can generate a continuous shot. Other models have slightly longer limits but 8-10 seconds is typical."

This video of supposed Israeli protesters against the war between Israel and Iran is also eight seconds long.   

Anti-war demonstrations in Israel?

This evidence shows that the video is most likely AI-generated. But are there still real protests against this war in Israel?

So far, there are no reports of large-scale protests in Israel against the conflict between Israel and Iran.We couldn't find any videos or images from news agencies showing any large demonstrations either and DW correspondents in Israel confirmed there had been no such protests, by the time of publication.

On the contrary, according to a recent opinion poll, there is broad support among Jewish Israelis for the strikes against Iran. Some 83% back Israel's military operations and express their confidence in Israel's security institutions and preparedness for a prolonged conflict. 

In contrast, the majority of Palestinian Israeli citizens said they opposed the strikes and favored diplomacy over military action.  

Boris Geilert contributed to this article.

Edited by Rachel Baig