After Yemen’s Huthi rebels claimed to have struck an Israeli-owned tanker in the Red Sea, images of burning vessels were shared in social media posts falsely claiming it showed the attack at the end of August 2025. The images in fact circulated in reports about Huthi attacks on shipping in the globally important waterway in August and October 2024.<\/p>\n
“An incredible, unique operation by Yemen’s Huthis against Israel,” reads part of the lengthy Thai-language caption of a\u00a0Facebook image<\/a> shared on September 5, 2025.<\/p>\n “The Yemenis targeted an Israeli oil tanker from a range of 1,111 kilometres, accurately striking the targets in the Mediterranean Sea.”<\/p>\n The image appears to show an explosion on the side of a ship.<\/p>\n A similar image<\/a> of a ship on fire was shared on the same day on X with the Thai-language caption: “Urgent. Yemeni attack on a ‘new ship’ in the Red Sea with precise targeting, setting it ablaze.”<\/p>\n Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on September 17, 2025, with a red X added by AFP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Screenshot of the false X post taken on September 10, 2025, with a red X added by AFP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The images surfaced after the Iran-backed rebels said on September 1 they had\u00a0fired a missile<\/a> at a tanker in the Red Sea, days after their prime minister was killed in an Israeli attack (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Huthis, who control swathes of Yemen, have launched missiles and drones<\/a> targeting Israel and Red Sea shipping throughout the Gaza war, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n While the rebels said they scored a direct hit on the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the attack missed the Israeli-owned ship.<\/p>\n The circulating images were also shared in similar Facebook<\/a>, TikTok<\/a> and X posts<\/a>.<\/p>\n The images, however, show different vessels and previously circulated in reports about Huthi attacks on shipping in August and October 2024.<\/p>\n A reverse image search<\/a> on Google found the first picture was used in a report<\/a> by the Reuters news agency published\u00a0on February 7, 2025 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n The picture is a file photo credited to “Houthi Military Media”, and is captioned: “The oil tanker Cordelia Moon bursts into flames after being hit by a missile in the Red Sea, off Yemen’s Red Sea Port of Hodeida, in this screengrab from a video released on October 1, 2024.”<\/p>\n Subsequent keyword searches<\/a> led to the video posted on the website of the\u00a0Yemeni Armed Forces<\/a> — which is affiliated with the Huthi rebels — on October 3, 2024 (archived link<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/div>
Attack on Cordelia Moon<\/h2>\n