In recent days, various accounts on the platform 'X' have circulated claims that a potential American military strike against Iran has been delayed because of significant issues with the toilets on board the aircraft carrier USS Gerald Ford, which is deploying towards the Middle East as part of an increased military presence. Some posts claimed that approximately 80% of the toilets were inoperative, causing operational challenges for the crew and necessitating prolonged hours for engineering teams to address the issue.

Accompanying these claims were images and videos showing water leaks and repair attempts within the sewage facilities, with the posters linking what they described as widespread malfunctions to the delay of the American strike, asserting that this military action was contingent upon the carrier reaching the theater of operations. However, investigations conducted by Al Jazeera's open-source unit revealed that the circulated materials bore no connection to the current carrier activities.

Through reverse image searches, it was found that one of the videos attributed to the USS Gerald Ford was actually from June 2023 and stemmed from a plumbing service account. It documented a blockage in a civilian sewage system, and the publisher clarified that the cause was related to sewer line issues, underscoring how misinformation can spread during military escalations, particularly in sensitive geopolitical contexts.