Iran wages ‘epistemic disruption’ campaign with AI-generated disinformation, experts warn
By [Your Name], International Editor, nouvelles-du-monde.com
WASHINGTON – As tensions remain high following recent U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure, a new and unsettling dimension of warfare has emerged: the widespread use of artificial intelligence to manufacture disinformation at an unprecedented scale. Experts warn this isn’t about persuading people to believe false things, but about eroding trust in the very idea of objective truth.
Since late February, Iran has deployed a sophisticated campaign of AI-generated content designed to sow doubt and confusion, according to analysis from the social media intelligence firm Cyabra. The firm documented over 145 million views of Iranian-linked disinformation content within a two-week period. This includes fabricated videos of missile impacts on the USS Abraham Lincoln, digitally altered images purporting to show damage to U.S. facilities, and deepfakes promoting pro-Iran narratives.
The U.S. Navy has denied claims made by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that its ballistic missiles struck and disabled the USS Abraham Lincoln, stating the carrier “continues to support Operation Epic Fury.”
This isn’t a crude attempt at influence, experts say. It’s a methodical, wartime deployment of a capability years in the making. The New York Times identified over 110 unique deepfakes circulating within the same timeframe.
“What is most consequential here is not the volume of Iranian deepfakes. It is the underlying strategic logic of what they are designed to accomplish,” writes a national security professional in an opinion piece published by The Cipher Brief. “Iranian AI operations…appear calibrated to achieve something more durable: the destruction of the shared evidentiary foundation that makes accountability possible.”
The shift represents a dramatic evolution from previous Iranian propaganda efforts. During the Iran-Iraq War, Tehran relied on radio broadcasts and print media with limited reach. Even during the 1991 Gulf War, Iraqi disinformation – exaggerated claims of downed aircraft – were relatively easily debunked by Western media.
The digital age brought “sock puppets” and recycled footage, but these required significant human labor and were detectable with basic verification tools. A turning point came in December 2023, when an IRGC-linked group hijacked streaming services in multiple countries, broadcasting a deepfake newscast delivered by an AI-generated anchor. Microsoft identified this as the “first Iranian influence operation where AI played a key component.”
June 2025 saw what analysts dubbed “The First AI War” – the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict where more misinformation was created through generative AI than through traditional methods, with three fake videos amassing over 100 million views.
The current campaign, unfolding in March 2026, builds on this precedent with new tactics. Cyabra’s analysis reveals tens of thousands of inauthentic accounts simultaneously distributing identical AI-generated assets across major platforms, using coordinated hashtags. Furthermore, a disturbing trend has emerged: the fabrication of technical-looking verification tools designed to discredit authentic evidence. In one instance, fabricated heatmaps were used to falsely label photographs taken by credentialed journalists as AI-generated.
This tactic – making real things look false – represents a qualitative escalation.
Adding to the complexity, Iran isn’t operating in isolation. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has documented an “authoritarian media playbook” involving Russian bot networks laundering Iranian content and Chinese state-aligned media amplifying anti-U.S. narratives.
Experts warn that detection tools are lagging behind the rapidly evolving capabilities of AI-generated disinformation. Meta’s Oversight Board recently ruled its deepfake detection “not robust or comprehensive enough” for the velocity of misinformation during armed conflicts. The EU AI Act’s labeling requirements for AI-generated content won’t be enforceable until August 2026 – well after this conflict began.
The U.S. government is currently restructuring its counter-influence mission, grappling with concerns about balancing national security with free speech protections. However, the urgency is clear: Iran’s campaign is not pausing while these debates continue.
The core objective of Iran’s information campaign, experts say, is “epistemic disruption” – the deliberate degradation of the audience’s ability to form reliable beliefs. This requires a fundamentally different response than countering traditional propaganda, demanding a focus on rebuilding the infrastructure of verification and establishing provenance.
