Ghost planes and fake attacks: disinformation refines in the Israel-Iran war

DamascusHours after Israel's surprise attack on Iran that sparked the current war between the two countriesRola, a young woman living in Damascus, burst into jubilation. "The Iranians have shot down two Israeli planes and captured one of the pilots! Now they're finally getting what they deserve!" she commented, her eyes glued to her mobile phone screen. The source was the Iranian press, and images of the alleged downed fighter jets and the arrested pilot were even shared on social media. However, the news ended up being just one of hundreds of stories.fake newscirculating these days on social media about a war conflict that also has a dimension of fighting for the story.

The most frequently reported fake images are of explosions and destruction in urban settings, both in Israel and Iran. In some cases, these are real photographs or videos, but they are from other countries and contexts. There are also images created using artificial intelligence. And although propaganda is an old weapon of war, had never reached the current levels of sophistication that even some serious media outlets take the bait and reproduce them.

Among thefake newsThe most original one was the one claiming there had been an attack on an Israeli bunker and urging citizens not to go there, a lie that could have caused casualties in the midst of the Iranian ballistic missile offensive. Also in Israel, another pointed to an accident at a chemical plant in Haida. In Iran, a video showed dozens of Iranians dancing next to their vehicles, but it wasn't celebrating the bombing of Israel, as claimed, but rather photos from 2023.

The lie with the greatest geopolitical reach was the video of an alleged Pakistani general claiming that his country was prepared to enter the war, including its nuclear arsenal, if Israel dropped a nuclear bomb on Iran. The news sparked debate in Damascus cafes. "If Pakistan enters, China will follow." This could be World War III. "The US has made a grave mistake," argued George, a Christian businessman from Damascus, basing his entire analysis of the conflict's evolution on a news story that never happened. Curiously, Pakistan's chief of staff, Asim Munir, was visiting Washington at the time.

Posturing to get clicks?

It's not always easy to identify the objective of each disinformation campaign. In some cases, they aren't even political in nature, but rather seek to attract clicks and followers. In others, they attempt to delegitimize the adversary by attributing war crimes to it. In the case of the downed planes, it seems clear that the goal was to boost Iranian morale and sow doubt among Israeli citizens about its military superiority. The Israeli fact-checking organization Fake Reporter identified the source of the image of the arrested pilot. It is Daniela Figueroa, a pilot in the Chilean army.

"Disinformation is a meta-risk for humanity. If left unchecked, it prevents our societies from addressing the economic and political challenges they face," explained Achiya Schatz, founder of Fake Reporter, in an interview a few months ago, in which he explained that the organization had to create a committee of the start of another war, that of Gaza, which also gave rise to intense disinformation campaigns.

Although Israel theoretically has an advantage in the disinformation battle thanks to its technological superiority, and an army of trolls and followers influencers In the West, Iran partially compensates thanks to the support of activists from the so-called Global South.

The fact that Israeli bombs have killed a large part of the country's military leadership with high precision has generated a climate of paranoia that disinformation has only exacerbated. "We immediately fled to the mountains. Rumors about foreign spies are circulating, and there are checkpoints everywhere. We are very afraid," explains a young Iranian woman married to a European citizen who prefers to remain anonymous for security reasons. On Thursday, security sources announced the arrest of 24 people accused of spying for Israel.