Image of Morocco team holding Bangladesh flag is AI-generated

A photo has recently been circulating on social media with the claim that Morocco’s national football team honoured the Bangladesh flag on the field while leaving the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, Dismislab’s fact-check found that the circulated image was created using artificial intelligence (AI).

The image was posted on July 11 from a Facebook profile. It shows several Moroccan footballers on the field holding the Bangladesh flag. The flag of Saudi Arabia also appears alongside the Bangladesh flag. The image, designed like a photocard, carries the headline, “Morocco Bids Farewell to the World Cup While Honouring the Bangladesh Flag.” In the first part of the caption, the user wrote, “Before Morocco exited the 2026 World Cup, members of the Moroccan team were seen holding the Bangladesh flag. This moment touched the hearts of many Bangladeshi football fans.”

As of publishing this report, the image had received more than 4,800 reactions and the post had been shared 183 times. An analysis of the comments shows that several users believed the image was genuine. One user wrote, “A very beautiful scene, many thanks to the Moroccan football team.” Another commented, “Alhamdulillah.”

The same image with the same claim was also posted from several Facebook profiles, pages, and groups (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Meanwhile, another Facebook page posted a different AI-generated photo designed as a photocard. It also shows soccer players of Morocco standing together while holding the Bangladesh flag. The card headline, written in yellow and white letters, reads, “Even in Their Farewell Moment, Morocco Showed Love for Bangladesh! The Red and Green Flag Flew High 🇧🇩” (spelling unchanged). The caption reads, ” Even while leaving the World Cup, Morocco showed its love for Bangladesh.” As of writing this report, the post had received more than 9,700 reactions and had been shared 630 times.

Images showing Moroccan players holding the Bangladesh flag, along with different captions, also spread from several profiles, pages, and groups (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) on Facebook.

While verifying the images, Dismislab found several inconsistencies. After examining the first image, it was found:

• A white Google Gemini AI watermark appears in the bottom-right corner of the image. This watermark appears when an image is created or edited using Google’s AI chatbot.
• The image shows two Achraf Hakimis on the field among the Moroccan players, which is impossible in reality.
• The Saudi Arabian flag is held by two footballers-Sofyan Amrabat and Hakimi; but the number of fingers on their hands shows clear inconsistencies.
• Although the Bangladesh flag appears beside another soccer player, Hakim Ziyech, the position of his hands shows that he is not actually holding the flag. Instead, the flag appears to float in the air. Moreover, Hakim Ziyech was not selected for Morocco’s national squad in this World Cup.

The same inconsistencies also appear in the second and other images. In addition, no credible news outlet or social media post reported that Morocco’s football team showed respect for the Bangladesh flag. These inconsistencies clearly indicate that the images are not authentic. They were created using artificial intelligence.

For further verification, Dismislab tested the image using Google’s AI detection tool, “Verify AI.” Google Gemini’s Verify AI analyzed the image and found that it had been created or edited using Google AI technology.

Therefore, the images circulated with the claim that Morocco’s football team honoured the Bangladesh flag while exiting the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup were created using AI.

Notably, Morocco’s World Cup journey ended on July 10 after losing 2-0 to France in the quarter-finals.