"An American female soldier stated that she feels 'shame and embarrassment' regarding the events in Rojava, affirming that the United States has indirectly contributed to the commission of crimes against Kurdish fighters." This is the caption for a videoof a woman in army garb, crying and wiping her tears in front of a waving American flag. In the video, she says, "I just wanted to let you know that I’m doing well. It’s been such a tough journey, but I’ve been trying my best to hold on for all of us."

Original publisher’s rating

DW Fact check: Fake There are two major issues with this claim. The first is that the video is AI-generated. This can be seen, for example, in the inconsistencies in the sandbags in the background that warp and flicker. In addition, her tears disappear or land unnaturally on her T-shirt. Also, the soldier’s name tag reads "WHADR," a nonexistent surname, and the lettering visibly trembles. HIVE Moderation, an AI detection tool, assessed the clip as 69% likely AI-generated. The TikTok handle which appears in the video links to an accountthat only posts short videos of female soldiers with similar nametag issues. The second hint is in the caption. The soldier does not use the quoted words, "shame and embarrassment," nor does she mention anything about the United States’ involvement in the region. The US was once the SDF's main ally. But after negotiations fell apart, the US shifted its support to the new government.

Reviewed by Deutsche Welle ↗ · January 23, 2026