Disinformation Effort Key to Houthi Red Sea Campaign, Says 5th Fleet Commander

Heather Mongilio

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Houthi spokesman claims attack on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)

As USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) left the Red Sea, on its way home, the Houthis attacked, sinking the ship. Or at least, that’s what the Yemeni-based group claimed, according to social media posts from the group’s leaders and their supporters.

The Houthis never struck Ike, which arrived home safely in Norfolk, Va., on July 14.

The fake strike on Ike is part of a disinformation campaign the Houthis have used as part of their tactics in the Red Sea, where they are striking commercial ships, Vice Adm. George Wikoff, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said during a Naval Institute and Center for Strategic and International Studies event Wednesday.

The Houthis have been aggressive when it comes to bending their narrative to fit their needs, Wikoff said. It’s been a tactic for about a decade, he added.

The claim of sinking Ike is not the first time the group, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department, claimed to take down the aircraft carrier. The group sent off a number of posts on social media site X with Eisenhower Commanding Officer Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill combatting the rise of disinformation with his own posts about Taco Tuesday or memes, USNI News previously reported.

The Houthi use of propaganda and a calculated narrative evolved as early as the Sa’ada Wars, which began in 2004, between the Houthis and Yemen’s government., according to a report from Yemen-based Sanaa Center, which examined the Houthi’s media strategy.

In 2014, the Houthis took over government channels and newspaper offices and expanded their propaganda, according to the report.