AI deepfake, video game footage disappears as actual combat, falsehood generated by chatbots. Such high-tech misinformation has distorted the Israeli-Iran conflict and promoted narrative wars across social media.
The information war that unfolds alongside the ground combat caused by Israeli nuclear facilities and military leaders underscores the digital crisis in an era of rapidly advancing AI tools that blurred the line between truth and manufacturing.
Experts say that the surge in wartime misinformation reveals the urgent need for more powerful detection tools, as key tech platforms have significantly weakened safeguards by reducing content moderation and reducing human fact checkers.
Video generated by the AI after Iran struck Israel with a missile barrage last week was falsely claiming it showed the damage caused to Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion airports.
The video was widely shared on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Using reverse image search, AFP fact checkers discovered that the clip was posted by a Tiktok account that generates content originally generated by AI.
Ken Jon Miyachi, founder of Austin-based company Bitmindai, told AFP there was a “surge in generative AI misinformation, particularly related to the Iran-Israel conflict.”
“These tools are used to manipulate public perceptions, and often amplify unprecedented scales and sophisticated, divisive or misleading stories.”
GetReal Security, a US company that focuses on detecting manipulated media, including AI deepfakes, has also identified a wave of manufactured videos related to the Israeli-Iran conflict.
The company is known for its hyper-realistic visuals that link visually persuasive videos and portray apocalyptic scenes of war-damaged Israeli aircraft and buildings, as well as trailer-mounted Iranian missiles on Google's VEO 3 AI generator.
VEO watermarks will be displayed at the bottom of the online video posted by news outlet Tehran Times. This claims that the “Iranian missile moment” hit Tel Aviv.
“We're a great fan of getting to know the world,” said Hany Farid, co-founder of GetReal Security and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Farid provided one tip to find such a deepfake. VEO3 videos were usually a combination of clips of 8 seconds in length or similar periods.
“This 8-second limit clearly doesn't prove that the video is fake, but it should be a good reason to pause and fact-check before being re-embarrassed,” he said.
False is not limited to social media.
Deolformation Watchdog NewsGuard has identified five websites that have advanced a number of false claims, ranging from AI-generated photos to Iranian manufactured reports that captured Israeli pilots to demonstrate mass destruction in Tel Aviv.
Sources spreading these false narratives include Iran's military-related telegram channels and sources from state-run media affiliated with Iran's Islamic Republic Broadcasting (IRIB), which were approved by the US Treasury Department, the News Guard said.
“We see a flood of false claims and look like a centrally targeted audience with ordinary Iranians,” News Guard researcher Mackenzie Sadegi told AFP.
Sadegi described Iranian citizens as “confined in a sealed, information environment.” There, state media dominates in their chaotic attempts to “control the story.”
Iran itself claims to be a victim of technical manipulation, and local media reports that Israel has temporarily hacked the state's television broadcasts, aired footage of women's protests, and urged people to take them on the streets.
In addition to the confusion of information, there were online clips that were unlocked from war-themed video games.
AFP's fact checker has identified one such clip posted to X. The footage had impressive similarities to the military simulation game Alma 3.
Israeli forces claimed Iranian media reports that the fighters claimed they had defeated Iran as “fake news.”
Chatbots such as Xai's Grok have increasingly turned their eyes on online users for immediate fact checks, falsely identifying some of the manipulated visuals as real, researchers said.
“This highlights the broader crisis in today's online information landscape: the erosion of trust in digital content,” said Miyachi of Bitmindai.
“Better detection tools, media literacy and platform accountability are urgently needed to protect the integrity of public discourse.”
Published – June 21, 2025 10:31 AM IST
