Oman warns of hazardous cargo as AI iPhone videos go viral after shipwreck

Omani authorities have issued an urgent maritime safety warning following the sinking of the Singapore-flagged container ship GFS Pride in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, 14 October. The incident has triggered a wave of viral videos appearing to show hundreds of iPhones and luxury perfume bottles floating in the water, which independent fact-checkers have now identified as AI-generated fabrications. Disputed accounts of vessel sinking The GFS Pride, operated by GFS Ship Management with a capacity of 2,824 TEU, caught fire on Monday, 13 October before sinking the following day. All 21 crew members were safely evacuated. However, the cause of the disaster remains a point of international dispute. Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority stated the vessel was struck by an "unidentified projectile," while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed the ship hit a naval mine after taking an unauthorised route. Amid the confusion, reports from Iran International on Saturday, 19 October indicated that vendors in Tehran are advertising iPhone 18 handsets at deep discounts, claiming the devices are "war booty" recovered from the wreck. No official cargo manifest has been released to verify these claims. AI-generated footage debunked Fact-checking organisations, including Factnameh and BBC Verify, have debunked the viral footage showing boaters scooping iPhone boxes from the sea. Analysts identified several visual inconsistencies typical of AI generation, including…