Is the video of Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland reciting an Islamic declaration of faith and converting to Islam real? No, that’s not true: An online AI video detection tool determined that the clip was 100% “likely AI generated.” Another tool found that the video showed signs of being created or modified using AI tools or technology.
The statement appeared in a post and video on X on March 13, 2026 (archived here). The content is as follows:
Football star Erling Haaland continues to make headlines. Erling Haaland is attracting attention not only for his football skills but also for his personal life, with his latest photo causing a stir on social media. These recent photos of the footballer, who is said to be Muslim, have generated a lot of interest. #erlinghaaland #football #ardagüler #Muslim #Islam
Here’s what the post looks like on X at the time of writing:
Photo credit: Posted on X by @TruthMovemen.
one Google News Search (Archived here) found no evidence that Haaland had converted to Islam.
advertise
Video analysis
Lead Stories ran the video via Gemini, Google’s artificial intelligence assistant (archived here). The following conclusions are drawn:
According to the SynthID tool, the video does not contain a Google AI watermark. However, this does not rule out the possibility that it was created or modified using other artificial intelligence tools or techniques.
Based on visual analysis and available information, there are several indications that the video may be deepfake Or digitally processed clips:
Visual inconsistency: In the first part of the video showing the conversion ceremony, the man identified as Erling Haaland has some unnatural features on his face. When he moves or is hugged, facial features sometimes “glitch” or move slightly independently of the head, a common feature of deepfake technology. The facial structure also doesn’t exactly match Haaland’s actual features (the jawline and forehead area look slightly different, for example).
Contextual evidence: There are no reliable news reports or official statements from Erling Haaland or Manchester City confirming his religious conversion. While Haaland has occasionally used Islamic phrases such as “Inshallah” or “Alhamdulillah” on social media – often when interacting with Muslim teammates – there is no evidence that he participated in the specific ritual shown in this video.
Video source: The second clip of Haaland and Jack Grealish appears to be real footage from a dressing room environment, but with Islamic-themed music and emojis added to it to fit the narrative of the first (possibly fake) clip.
In summary, while its specific watermark was not detected by the SynthID tool, visual and contextual evidence indicate that the video is likely the product of AI manipulation or a deepfake.
Lead Stories also noted that the hoodie worn in the video had a garbled Manchester City badge on it. Although Haaland’s features and other details in the foreground are very clear in the video, the badge is distorted:
Photo credit: @TruthMovemen Posted on X and Manchester City Football Club.
The second tool, Hive Moderation AI-generated content detection, concluded that the video was “likely AI-generated” with an overall score of 100%. The higher the score, the more AI content:
Image source: Hive review.
