The Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation branded an image of player Mohammad Mahbi discarding a 'Woman, Life, Freedom' poster as an AI-generated fake — but the state-run daily Kayhan itself published the same photo days earlier, according to a report on Iran news Telegram channels.
The row over an image of Iranian national team player Mohammad Mahbi taking down a 'Woman, Life, Freedom' poster took a new turn Sunday morning. The Iran Football Federation issued a statement Saturday claiming the image was 'completely fake' and generated by AI. But as The Zioneer reported Saturday evening (June 20, 23:52 Jerusalem), the federation's claim sits uneasily with the fact that the state-run daily Kayhan — a regime mouthpiece — published the same photograph days earlier. Telegram channels covering Iran news have circulated side-by-side comparisons of the Kayhan print edition and the digital image now labeled a forgery. No independent verification of the channel's sourcing has been possible; the federation has not responded to questions about the apparent contradiction.
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