Summary

  • Houthis exaggerate attacks
  • Misinformation spreads online
  • USS Eisenhower not targeted

The Houthi rebels in northern Yemen have once again claimed to have attacked the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (nicknamed Ike). This comes a couple of days after they claimed to have targeted and struck the supercarrier in retaliation for Anglo-American strikes on them. Soon after the claims, the internet was flooded with fake news showing the mighty American carrier burning.

Houthis claim to target Ike

In an apparent case of self-one-up-manship, the Houthis increased their claim of attacking the US carrier made a day ago to also attacking a US destroyer and three vessels (namely the ABLANI, ALORAIQ, and MAINA) in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. These claims were made by the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree on Saturday and were reported by Reuters.

F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the "Rampagers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83, during flight operations aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

Photo: USN

Saree claimed the Houthis had “targeted the American aircraft carrier, the Eisenhower, north of the Red Sea, with a number of missiles and drones.” He also said it was “the second targeting operation against the carrier during the past 24 hours.” It is unclear if some or all of these attacks took place, but it is clear the US Navy vessels have not been struck.

The Houthi rebels are known to routinely make outlandish claims and greatly exaggerate their successes. Therefore, the Houthis’ extravagant claims should not be taken as credible.

Fake claims spread online

The UK Defense Journal reported that even Forbes had tweeted, “🚨Breaking🚨 A source has informed me that the USS Eisenhower has been SUNK. Mainstream media reports from yesterday claim the ship was not hit by Houthi missiles. Social media shows conflicting reports of damage.”

This helped to fan the flames of misinformation online, with fake images showing Ike engulfed in flames. The UK Defense Journal stated that the image circulating on social media (and posted by Forbes) was a screenshot from the video game Arma 3 depicting the fictional carrier USS Freedom (CVN-83).

Forbes later replied, “I have formally requested a retraction of this published article that claims I said the ship had been sunk. I was reporting what I was told and was clear that I was looking for confirmation. The way this article is written is intentionally deceptive and defamatory.”

A United States Navy Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet flying in the sky.

Photo: viper-zero | Shutterstock

The commanding officer of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Capt. Christopher F. Hill, known as “Chowdah,” did not dress the latest run of fantastic rumors directly. Instead, he posted videos on X (formerly Twitter) showing life on the mighty ship running as normal and footage of the crew baking cookies in the ship’s bakery.

This is not the first time fake news has been spread online claiming to show the Houthis hitting US Navy vessels. Among the fake stories have been historical videos of the US targeting its own decommissioned ships (testing its anti-ship missiles), but the videos have been claimed to be the result of a Houthi attack. The Houthis have been attacking merchant shipping in the waters for some time and have so far only succeeded in sinking one bulk carrier.

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