Digital War of Iran: Fake Videos Flood the Internet
The Israeli and American attacks on Iran have escalated, and the latter responded by launching missiles and drones. However, what distinguishes this war is not only the military conflict but also the social media and artificial intelligence war that has swept the internet since the beginning of the confrontations at the end of last month.
* Fake Videos Spark Panic
A torrent of misleading and fabricated videos has spread on social media platforms, some showing massive destruction and an exaggerated number of casualties.
One of the most notable was a video showing crowds looking up at fire, smoke, and debris falling from a skyscraper said to be in Bahrain. Many online accounts claimed it was the result of an Iranian attack, but the video was not real; it was created using artificial intelligence and shared by accounts linked to the Iranian government to amplify what they consider "successes."
* Government Entities and War Narratives
Melanie Smith, the Director General of Policies and Research in Information Operations at the Strategic Dialogue Institute, stated that content coming from government entities is used to build a clear narrative and support a specific story about the conflict and the geopolitical situation.
For his part, Emerson Brooking, Director of Strategy and Senior Fellow at the Digital Forensic Lab at the Atlantic Council, pointed out that social media platforms have become battlefields, warning of the exploitation of users by government entities even if they are thousands of kilometers away from the events.
* Pro-Iran Narratives and Media Exaggerations
Pro-Iran accounts on social media have inflated their narratives, promoting a number of casualties and destruction that exceeds reality, supported by Iranian state media, leading to the spread of hundreds of AI-generated videos of alleged airstrikes, similar to the video of the burning Bahraini building.
* Censorship and Lack of Information Increase Chaos
What distinguishes the current situation from previous conflicts such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war is the lack of information from within Iran due to internet cuts and general censorship, depriving researchers of narratives that could support or criticize the Iranian government.
* Fame Seekers Exacerbate Misinformation
Alongside accounts supporting states, ordinary users seeking fame have contributed to spreading misleading content by reposting old footage as if it were recent or showcasing scenes from video games as real, and posting AI-generated content, which increased the informational chaos during the early days of the war.
* Artificial Intelligence: A Powerful Misinformation Tool
Melanie Smith confirmed that the amount of AI-generated content has begun to pollute the informational environment in times of crises at an alarming rate, which was not possible just a few years ago.
* Platform X Intervenes
In an attempt to curb the chaos, Platform X announced last week that it would suspend profit-sharing for any user who posts AI-generated content from a conflict zone without clearly disclosing it, stating that the suspension will last for 90 days for the first violation and become permanent if repeated.
