Mauritanian Hajj Pilgrims’ Plane Crashed? No! Old, AI Image Goes Viral

One of the images is AI-generated while the other one dates back to 2018 and is from Algeria.

Old and AI-generated images are going viral to claim that a flight from Mauritania recently crashed carrying Hajj pilgrims.

(Photo: The Quint)

A set of two photos are going viral online to claim that a flight from Mauritania carrying 220 Hajj pilgrims recently crashed in the Red Sea.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source; X/Screenshot)

(Archives can be seen here and here.)

What's the truth?: This claim is false.

• The first image is AI-generated and not a real picture.

• The second image dates back to at least 2018 when an Algerian army plane crashed killing 257 people, mostly soldiers.

How did we find out the truth?:

IMAGE 1:

• We ran the first image through two AI-detection tools, Hive and AI or Not, and both the tools identified the image AI-generated.

• Hive concluded that this image is 99 percentage AI-generated.

This image is AI-generated.

This image is not real. 

IMAGE 2:

• We performed a reverse image search on the image using Google lens.

• The results led us to several old articles from 2018 (here, here, here, here, here) and 2020 (here, here).

• Reports from 2018 stated that it shows an Algerian army plane crashed killing 257 people, mostly soldiers.

• However, reports from 2020 stated that it shows a plane which crashed in South Sudan.

• Although the location cannot be verified, it is evident that this picture is old and the viral claim is false.

This image dates back to at least 2018.

(Source: Screenshot)

• We performed a relevant keyword search and found a report by BBC published on 12 April 2018.

• It stated that an Algerian military plane taking off from Boufarik military airport had crashed near the killing 257 people on board, officials say.

• It adds that most of them were army personnel and their families, including ten crew members.

More about Mauritanian pilgrims: Mauritania’s Director of Hajj at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, El Waly Taha, dismissed the claim.

• It was confirmed that all Mauritanian pilgrims were safe and had arrived in the holy lands without any incident.

• Moreover, Mauritania Airlines also issued an official statement on their Facebook page, and denied the claims.

• It stated, "Some foreign social media pages have been circulating malicious rumors about a plane carrying Mauritanian pilgrims crashing into the Red Sea. These reports are completely baseless. Mauritania Aviation confirms that all the Mauritanian pilgrims have thankfully arrived in the Holy Lands safely and safely, and no incident has been recorded regarding organized flights in this frame."

This post was shared on 27 May 2025.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

Conclusion: Old and AI-generated images are going viral to claim that a flight from Mauritania recently crashed carrying Hajj pilgrims.

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