Old, unrelated visuals shared as Houthis' attack on U.S. aircraft carriers

What is the claim?

Multiple videos purportedly showing an attack launched by Yemen’s Houthis on U.S. warships and aircraft carriers in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea are circulating online. One such video shows multiple warships under attack with missiles, while another shows smoke rising from a warship. Both videos claim the attacked vessel is the “USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.”

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared one of the videos with the caption, “Yemen #Houthis are relentless. They’re attacking U.S warships while also claim to attack USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Red and Arabian Seas with drones & missiles. Significant damage has been done.”

Another X user shared another video and wrote, “BREAKING : #Houthis are unstoppable ! Footage purportedly shows the aftermath of the Yemeni resistance #HOUTHIS attack on the American aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, with multiple cruise missiles and drones💥Yeman has destroyed US hegemony. US is no longer a superpower”. At the time of writing, this video had amassed more than 265,000 views and more than 6,800 likes. Archived versions of similar posts can be found here, here, here, here, and here.

Screenshot of similar claims posted on social media. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

On November 12, 2024, the United States Pentagon confirmed that the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group launched a missile and drone attack against U.S. warships transiting the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, spokesperson for The Pentagon, said the attack was “successfully engaged and defeated.”

What are the facts?

We found that the viral video depicting a vessel engulfed in smoke originated in 2020 when a U.S. Navy warship caught fire at a San Diego naval base. Furthermore, another video showing an attack on ships is not real but taken from a tactical shooter simulation video game, Arma 3. Additionally, Ryder said he is "not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln."

Video 1: Attack on ships

The first viral video shows missiles attacking some ships. Upon conducting a reverse image search on the keyframes, we found a video (archived here) posted by a YouTube channel called ‘USMC’ on January 14, 2024. 

The video titled, “INSTANT REACTION FROM IRAN! Houthi Cruise Missile sinks US aircraft carrier near Yemen,” features the viral clip, which can be viewed between the timestamps 10:53 to 11:41. However, according to the video description, the footage is not real and displays visuals from the gameplay of Arma 3, an open-world tactical shooter simulation video game. 

Logically Facts has previously fact-checked several gameplay videos from Arma 3 that were shared as real footage of attacks in different conflicts. They can be read here, here, here, and here.

Video 2: Ship engulfed in smoke

On carrying out a reverse image search on keyframes of the viral video, we found multiple news reports with the same visuals, stating that the clip showed the vessel USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego in 2020. The ship burned for four days in San Diego, California, in July 2020 and left 40 sailors and 23 civilians injured.

The initial 13 seconds of the viral video match the yellow structure on the left, the mast of the ship, three glowing bulbs, and the rising smoke in a YouTube video (archived here) uploaded by the U.S. Navy. The video dates back to July 14, 2020, and is titled “USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Firefighting Efforts, July 13th Part One.” 

Comparison of the viral video and the similar video posted in 2020. (Source: X/U.S. Navy/Modified by Logically Facts)

The timestamp from 14 to 23 seconds of the viral video shows a close-up shot of the same vessel marked with the bold number “6” and a chopper approaching from the right side. The same visual elements can be observed in another video (archived here) uploaded by the U.S. Navy on July 14, 2020, in part three of the “USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6) Firefighting Efforts”.

Comparison of the viral video and the similar video posted in 2020. (Source: X/U.S. Navy/Modified by Logically Facts)

The viral video concludes with the visuals of an aircraft attempting to extinguish the flames by spraying liquid aerially, accompanied by dense smoke from the ship. The clip also features a brief voice-over: "The ship was estimated to be between 2.5 to 3.2 billion dollars.” 

In an additional reverse image search on the keyframes, we found a similar video uploaded by FOX 5 San Diego (archived here), titled, “Navy Will Scrap USS Bonhomme Richard After Suspected Arson.” A similar visual and voice-over can be seen at the time stamp of 25 to 29 seconds, which matches the viral video.

Comparison of the viral video and the similar video posted in 2020. (Source: X/FOX 5 San Diego/Modified by Logically Facts)

The verdict

The viral videos falsely claim to show an attack by Houthi rebels on the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. The first viral video shows a U.S. Navy warship that caught fire at a San Diego naval base in 2020, and the second video displays gameplay footage from the Arma 3 video game.