Iran War: AI Creates a Fake Reality

Iran has virtually destroyed Tel Aviv, killed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and sunk an American aircraft carrier—but the mainstream media is covering it up. That’s a false narrative many people around the world believe, and they have the videos to prove it.

• These videos clearly show the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem being destroyed; Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, being struck with a missile; an American aircraft carrier suffering an explosion.

These are all realistic-looking fakes.

Marc Owen Jones, associate professor of media analytics at Northwestern University in Qatar, told the New York Times, “Even compared to when the Ukraine war broke out, things now are very different. We’re probably seeing far more AI-related content now than we ever have before.”

“The majority of AI videos about the war push pro-Iranian views, often to falsely demonstrate its military superiority and sophistication, according to a study of online activity by Cyabra, a social media intelligence company,” the New York Times wrote.

• Iran, for example, claimed to have crippled, if not sunk, the USS Abraham Lincoln. Video of the strike quickly spread online. In reality, the ship is unharmed.
• Others use AI tools to take real footage and make it look more dramatic. They often have no serious agenda beyond getting clicks.

In all this confusion, legitimate videos are also being accused of AI fakery. Many news watchers are simply giving up on following events, not knowing what to believe.

When America invaded Iraq in 2003, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf became an Internet sensation for his broadcasts claiming that the Iraqis were beating the Americans, even as American troops occupied Baghdad. Now anyone can create a fake narrative and point to video evidence to support it.

The truth: “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth has fallen in the public squares, and uprightness cannot enter,” warns Isaiah 59:14 (Revised Standard Version). Never has it been easier to tell bold lies convincingly.

Consider the critical spiritual dimension here. Here at the Trumpet, we warn that the world has entered the last days. Revelation 12 prophesies that in the end time, Satan the devil will be cast down to Earth. That has happened. The father of lies is confined to Earth and more enraged than ever. He can influence attitudes, moods and emotions (Ephesians 2:2). And now we have a technology that makes it so easy to create fake realities.

Now more than ever we must value and fight for the truth. Our article “Navigating Our Fake World” has more.