President Donald Trump accused Iran of waging an aggressive disinformation campaign using artificial intelligence during the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel, taking direct aim at the American “corrupt media outlets” that were parroting the same misinformation.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran has increasingly relied on AI-generated content and propaganda distributed through sympathetic media outlets and social media accounts.
“Iran has long been known as a master of media manipulation and public relations,” Trump wrote. “They are militarily ineffective and weak, but are really good at feeding the very appreciative fake news media false information.”
Trump specifically pushed back on viral imagery circulating online that purported to show U.S. military losses during the conflict, including claims that multiple American refueling aircraft had been destroyed. The president said those reports, including one attributed to The Wall Street Journal, were false. “The five U.S. refueling planes that were supposedly struck down and badly damaged … are all in service, with the exception of one, which will soon be flying the skies,” Trump said.
The president also rejected widely shared images claiming the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had been struck and set ablaze.
“Buildings and Ships that are shown to be on fire are not — It’s FAKE NEWS, generated by A.I. For instance, Iran, working in close coordination with the Fake News Media, shows our great USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean.”
Trump went further, suggesting that American media outlets that knowingly amplify false propaganda during wartime should face serious consequences. “The story was knowingly fake and, in a certain way, you can say that those media outlets that generated it should be brought up on charges for treason for the dissemination of false information,” he wrote.
His comments come as analysts warn that AI-generated propaganda has become a major feature of the information war surrounding the conflict. A widely circulated video appearing to show a high-rise building in Bahrain engulfed in flames after an Iranian missile strike was later determined to be AI-generated and shared by accounts linked to the Iranian government, according to researchers tracking online influence campaigns.
Experts said the video contained several visual anomalies typical of AI-generated content, including vehicles appearing fused together and human movements that defied normal physics.
Melanie Smith of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue said state-linked influence operations are increasingly using AI tools to amplify political narratives during wartime.
“The content that’s coming from state actors tends to be a little better targeted,” Smith said. “They have a very clear narrative structure and the videos are used to support some kind of statement they want to make about the conflict.” Researchers say pro-Iran accounts have circulated numerous fabricated clips showing air strikes and military successes in an effort to exaggerate damage inflicted on U.S. and Israeli targets.
Analysts warn that the growing flood of AI-generated content is making it harder for the public to distinguish real battlefield developments from fabricated propaganda. “The volume of AI content is starting to just pollute the information environment in these kinds of crisis settings to a really terrifying degree,” Smith said.
Some social media platforms have begun responding to the surge in misinformation. Nikita Bier, head of product at X, announced that users who post AI-generated content related to armed conflicts without disclosure could be suspended from the platform’s revenue-sharing program.
Meanwhile, Emerson Brooking of the Atlantic Council warned that social media has effectively become another battlefield. “If you’re in these spaces, just understand that this is an extension of the physical battle space,” Brooking said. “Your eyeballs and your attention are an asset.”
Trump praised Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, for reviewing broadcast licenses held by outlets he accused of spreading false information. “They get billions of dollars of free American airwaves and use it to perpetuate lies,” Trump wrote, arguing that the Iranian government is attempting to win an information war even as its military suffers setbacks on the battlefield.
“The fact is, Iran is being decimated,” Trump wrote. “And the only battles they ‘win’ are those they create through A.I.”
As the conflict unfolds both on the battlefield and across social media feeds, the struggle over information is just another front to wrestle public opinion into despair and confusion; over what’s real, what’s fabricated, and who controls the narrative.
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[[{“value”:”
President Donald Trump accused Iran of waging an aggressive disinformation campaign using artificial intelligence during the ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel, taking direct aim at the American “corrupt media outlets” that were parroting the same misinformation.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump said Iran has increasingly relied on AI-generated content and propaganda distributed through sympathetic media outlets and social media accounts.
“Iran has long been known as a master of media manipulation and public relations,” Trump wrote. “They are militarily ineffective and weak, but are really good at feeding the very appreciative fake news media false information.”
Trump specifically pushed back on viral imagery circulating online that purported to show U.S. military losses during the conflict, including claims that multiple American refueling aircraft had been destroyed. The president said those reports, including one attributed to The Wall Street Journal, were false. “The five U.S. refueling planes that were supposedly struck down and badly damaged … are all in service, with the exception of one, which will soon be flying the skies,” Trump said.
The president also rejected widely shared images claiming the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln had been struck and set ablaze.
“Buildings and Ships that are shown to be on fire are not — It’s FAKE NEWS, generated by A.I. For instance, Iran, working in close coordination with the Fake News Media, shows our great USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean.”
Trump went further, suggesting that American media outlets that knowingly amplify false propaganda during wartime should face serious consequences. “The story was knowingly fake and, in a certain way, you can say that those media outlets that generated it should be brought up on charges for treason for the dissemination of false information,” he wrote.
His comments come as analysts warn that AI-generated propaganda has become a major feature of the information war surrounding the conflict. A widely circulated video appearing to show a high-rise building in Bahrain engulfed in flames after an Iranian missile strike was later determined to be AI-generated and shared by accounts linked to the Iranian government, according to researchers tracking online influence campaigns.
Experts said the video contained several visual anomalies typical of AI-generated content, including vehicles appearing fused together and human movements that defied normal physics.
Melanie Smith of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue said state-linked influence operations are increasingly using AI tools to amplify political narratives during wartime.
“The content that’s coming from state actors tends to be a little better targeted,” Smith said. “They have a very clear narrative structure and the videos are used to support some kind of statement they want to make about the conflict.” Researchers say pro-Iran accounts have circulated numerous fabricated clips showing air strikes and military successes in an effort to exaggerate damage inflicted on U.S. and Israeli targets.
Analysts warn that the growing flood of AI-generated content is making it harder for the public to distinguish real battlefield developments from fabricated propaganda. “The volume of AI content is starting to just pollute the information environment in these kinds of crisis settings to a really terrifying degree,” Smith said.
Some social media platforms have begun responding to the surge in misinformation. Nikita Bier, head of product at X, announced that users who post AI-generated content related to armed conflicts without disclosure could be suspended from the platform’s revenue-sharing program.
Meanwhile, Emerson Brooking of the Atlantic Council warned that social media has effectively become another battlefield. “If you’re in these spaces, just understand that this is an extension of the physical battle space,” Brooking said. “Your eyeballs and your attention are an asset.”
Trump praised Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, for reviewing broadcast licenses held by outlets he accused of spreading false information. “They get billions of dollars of free American airwaves and use it to perpetuate lies,” Trump wrote, arguing that the Iranian government is attempting to win an information war even as its military suffers setbacks on the battlefield.
“The fact is, Iran is being decimated,” Trump wrote. “And the only battles they ‘win’ are those they create through A.I.”
As the conflict unfolds both on the battlefield and across social media feeds, the struggle over information is just another front to wrestle public opinion into despair and confusion; over what’s real, what’s fabricated, and who controls the narrative.
“}]]
