Social Media Swirls with Misinformation Amid Recent U.S.-Houthi Reciprocal Attacks

The Yemeni Houthis threatened to resume naval operations against Israel over the Gaza aid blockade, prompting U.S. airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas. In response, Yemen launched airstrikes on Israel. Meanwhile, misinformation about the conflict spread widely on social media.

Recent U.S. Retaliatory Attack Against Yemeni Houthis

On March 16, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered a series of airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, vowing to deploy “overwhelming lethal force” until the Houthis halted their attacks on shipping along a key maritime route.

By March 17, the United States had intensified its air campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. The strikes killed at least 53 people, including children, and wounded many others. The Houthis reported explosions in their territory, with blasts hitting the capital, Sanaa, and the northern province of Saada, their stronghold near the Saudi border.

On March 25, U.S. airstrikes targeted multiple Houthi-controlled sites across Yemen. The Houthis reported that one strike in Sanaa killed at least two people and injured more than a dozen others. Additional airstrikes hit Saada, Hodeida and Marib province.

Misbar’s team reviewed all claimed Houthi operations from March 18 to the present, revealing a series of attacks targeting Israeli and U.S. military assets.

The Houthis launched multiple attacks on Ben Gurion Airport in occupied Jaffa using Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missiles.

They also targeted an Israeli military site south of Jaffa on March 20 and Nevatim Air Base on March 18.

The Houthis repeatedly targeted the USS Harry Truman aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships in the Red Sea, using missiles and drones.

The Israeli military reported intercepting most of the missiles launched from Yemen toward Israel since March 18.

Misinformation Spreads Regarding U.S. Airstrikes on Yemen

Amid the recent U.S. attack on Yemen, social media users widely shared a video claiming to show American forces launching airstrikes on Houthi targets in Saada.

Misbar’s investigation confirmed that the viral footage is unrelated to the recent U.S. airstrikes.

AlHadath news outlet originally uploaded the footage on August 8, 2022, showing four violent explosions southeast of Sanaa, which coincided with a failed Houthi attempt to transfer a ballistic missile into one of its camps.

Social media users also shared a video claiming to show U.S. airstrikes targeting the port city of Hodeidah and a government facility in Al-Jawf province, north of Tanaat.

Misbar’s team found the footage to be outdated.

Orient News' YouTube channel originally published the video on March 25, 2022, reporting that it showed fires at the Aramco oil facility in Jeddah after a missile attack by the Houthi group.

In addition, social media trolls also widely shared a video purporting to show recent U.S. airstrikes hitting the Sahar and Kitaf wa Al Boqe'e districts in Saada Governorate.

Misbar’s team conducted a thorough reverse image search and found the video clip to be outdated.

The original video first appeared online in January 2024, showing American and British strikes on Saada at the time.

Social Media Circulates Old Yemen-Related Scenes as Recent Conflict

As the Houthis frequently claimed missile attacks on a U.S. carrier in the Red Sea, social media users widely shared a video alleging that Yemeni Houthi forces had directly hit an American vessel off Yemen’s coast.

However, the viral video is unrelated to the recent escalation between the Yemeni Houthis and U.S. forces.

Misbar’s team traced the original footage back to June 14, 2017, when an X user uploaded it, claiming that Yemeni naval forces had destroyed a military ship belonging to aggression forces off the coast of Mokha.

Also, social media users shared a video claiming to show Israeli settlers rushing to shelters in Tel Aviv as sirens blared following a Yemeni Houthi attack.

Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be misleading, as the video is older than alleged.

CBS Evening News originally uploaded the footage on April 8, 2022, showing Israelis fleeing a mass shooting in downtown Tel Aviv.

The misinformation was not limited to Houthi attacks on Israeli sites and ships in the Red Sea; it also extended to claims about downed drones.

Social media trolls shared a photo claiming to show the wreckage of a U.S. MQ-9 drone recently shot down by Yemeni air defenses in Dhamar province.

Misbar investigated the circulating photo and found the claim to be misleading, as the photo is older than alleged.

A thorough reverse image search revealed that the photo shows a drone shot down by Yemeni forces in May 2024.

Furthermore, social media users shared a video claiming to show a Yemeni Houthi missile striking central Tel Aviv, Israel.

Misbar’s investigation found the footage to be outdated. A thorough review traced the video back to December 2024, showing the Israeli Iron Dome failing to intercept a Yemeni missile strike on Tel Aviv at that time.

Moreover, netizens spread a video claiming to show Yemeni missiles striking central Tel Aviv.

Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be misleading, as the footage actually shows an older Iranian attack on Israel.

A thorough reverse image search confirmed that the video depicts an Iranian missile strike on Israel from October 2024.

After the U.S. recently alleged that airstrikes had eliminated key Houthi leaders, social media users claimed that recent U.S. airstrikes on Saada, Yemen, killed Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi and circulated an image allegedly showing his body after the attack.

Misbar’s investigation found both the claim and the image to be fake.

Misbar’s team remains committed to exposing and debunking misinformation and disinformation surrounding U.S.-Houthi unrest and other ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

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