"Debunking Fake Footage: Iran's Alleged Attack on Israel Exposed"
Originally Published 1 year ago — by WIRED
Following Iran's announcement of an attack on Israel, fake and misleading posts quickly went viral on social media platform X, with AI-generated videos and repurposed footage from other conflicts being used to falsely depict the strikes and their impact. Verified accounts, including those claiming to be open source intelligence experts, were found to be spreading this misinformation, with some posts garnering hundreds of thousands of views. The spread of mis- and disinformation is giving cover to even more nefarious actors, including Iranian state media outlets. The platform's content moderation cutbacks under Elon Musk's leadership have allowed disinformation to thrive, making it difficult for legitimate OSINT researchers to surface accurate information. Additionally, a report found that verified users were able to grow their followings by posting antisemitic and Islamophobic content about the conflict, potentially profiting from spreading misinformation.