Summary: A video posted on X falsely claims to show the likely destruction of the U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower by the Houthis.

-Experts have confirmed the video is fake, likely created with CGI.

-Despite its inauthenticity, the video highlights several important issues: the impact of deep fake technology on national security, the vulnerability of aircraft carriers in modern warfare, and the resentment towards the American military presence abroad.

A Fake Attack on a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier 

X user @JTMprincenews has posted a video purporting to show the destruction of the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier.

“In this video, we can see how USS Dwight Eisenhower is being blown off by the Houthis,” the caption reads. “Home to 60 fighter jets wit a crew of 5000 staffs & Navy personnel. Aerodrome of death, with sole purpose of bring USA’ madness around the world. Its fate is [similar] for others.”

The National Interest has consulted with multiple experts, and each confirmed that the video is a fake. Not that we really needed to consult the experts – the video looks like it was made as a high-school CGI project. 

Nevertheless, the video raises a few worthwhile talking points. First is the ramifications of deep-fake videos on national security. Second is the survivability of aircraft carriers in future combat. And third is the resentment that American military presence abroad still engenders, especially in the Arab world. 

Deep Fakes   

The rise of deep fakes – of AI-manufactured videography and photography – will surely complicate national security. Discerning what is real from what is fake has long been a challenge of intelligence-gathering. But as the ability to generate increasingly authentic-looking content increases with the rise of AI-assisted video-generation programs, the challenge of discerning what is real will only grow.

Videos claiming the outright destruction of an aircraft carrier will always be relatively easy to confirm or deny, since you can pick up the phone and call the boat in question (though such videos do have the potential to exacerbate the fog of war). More subtle videos with more subtle national security implications will be harder to discern. The location of a human target, for example, or correspondence between two human targets. The problem is beginning to manifest itself on the civilian side, with AI-assisted videos being used as leverage in blackmail schemes and the like. Expect similar schemes to crop up in the national security realm.

Sitting Duck: Aircraft Carriers Could Be Targets in Real Life - and Take on Damage 

The video is fake, but it plays on a legitimate fear: that a U.S. supercarrier could be sunk. The survivability of the aircraft carrier, and indeed of all surface vessels, has been called into question lately. The rise of anti-ship technology has improved. Drones and missiles in operation can plausibly interfere with the operation of an aircraft carrier. 

The success of the low-tech Houthis in disrupting the operations of U.S. warships in the region has raised questions about how those warships might fare in a conflict against a more sophisticated opponent such as China. So while the video in question here is fake, the premise is concerning and on the minds of war planners.  

Breeding Resentment

The posting of the video emphasizes how much of the world’s population does not appreciate the U.S. presence abroad. The U.S. has strategic interests that in some cases require a U.S. presence abroad – but at a certain point, the U.S. presence begins to run counter to U.S. interests. Where exactly that tipping point lies is very situation-specific. But Americans should not grown complacent to, or dismissive of, the fact that significant portions of the international community believe a ship flying the Stars and Stripes is an “aerodomes of death” for the “sole purpose to bring USA madness around the world.” 

The U.S. must take better care to assert itself in situations and places that benefit American interests. And if for no other reason than our own callous self-interest, Americans must be more mindful of the resentment they can sow abroad. 

Note: As the video might be disturbing, we have not embedded it. You can watch it on X here. 

About the Author: Harrison Kass 

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Main image is a screenshot from X. All others are Creative Commons.