Disinformation Floods Social Media Platform X Amid US-Israeli Strike on Iran

In the wake of a US and Israeli attack on Iran, the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, has become inundated with disinformation. WIRED has reviewed hundreds of posts on the platform that spread misleading claims about the attack's locations and scale. Many of these posts have garnered millions of views, despite containing false information.

Some posts on X include alleged video footage of the attack, which, upon closer inspection, are months or even years old. In several instances, videos have been misattributed to incorrect locations, and some images appear to have been altered or generated using artificial intelligence. Additionally, there are posts that attempt to pass off video game footage as real scenes from the conflict.

X did not respond to requests for comment regarding the spread of disinformation. Under Musk's leadership, the platform has become a notorious hub for false information, particularly during major breaking news events. This pattern was evident at the onset of the Israel-Hamas war and during recent anti-immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles.

Most of the viral posts reviewed by WIRED came from accounts with blue check marks, indicating they pay for X's premium service and may earn money based on post engagement, regardless of the content's veracity. Although some posts have community notes appended to correct misinformation, these posts remain accessible, and it is unclear how many users viewed them before the notes were added.

One viral post from a blue-check-mark account falsely claimed to show ballistic missiles over Dubai, when the footage actually depicted Iranian missiles fired at Tel Aviv in October 2024. This post has been viewed over 4.4 million times. Another widely shared video purportedly showing an Israeli fighter jet being shot down by Iranian air defenses has no credible basis, as there have been no reports of Israeli jets being downed over Iran.

In another instance, an account claiming expertise in open source intelligence posted a video of explosions, falsely captioned as Iranian hypersonic missiles hitting an Israeli port. The video, viewed 64,000 times, actually shows an Israeli attack on Syria from July. Similarly, pro-Iranian accounts have used images from recent attacks to falsely claim successful strikes against Israel, with one post showing an image of Dubai misrepresented as Tel Aviv.

The Tehran Times, aligned with the Iranian government, posted an AI-generated image on X, claiming an American radar in Qatar was destroyed in an Iranian drone strike. This claim was flagged by Tal Hagin, a senior analyst with Golden Owl, an open source intelligence company. While there are reports of attacks on the US Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, no similar successful attacks in Qatar have been reported.

A pro-Trump account with a blue check mark posted images claiming to show before and after pictures of the Iranian Supreme Leader's palace following missile attacks. However, the "before" image was actually of the Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, located elsewhere in Tehran. This post has been viewed 365,000 times.