‘Terrible scale’: Fake images hit social media after Iran strikes on Israel
Social media was swamped with dozens of misrepresented visuals after Iran’s attack on Israel.
Many of the falsehoods about the Iranian strikes were amplified by what researchers identified as accounts posing as “OSINT” – or open-source intelligence – investigators, feigning digital expertise to further blur the distinction between fact and fiction.
“The fact that so much misinformation is being spread by accounts looking for clout or financial benefit is giving cover to even more nefarious actors,” Isabelle Frances-Wright, director of technology at the nonprofit Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), told AFP news agency.
“The corrosion of the information landscape is undermining the ability of audiences to distinguish truth from falsehood on a terrible scale.”
ISD identified nearly three dozen false, misleading, or artificial intelligence-generated images and videos that claimed online to show the Iran attack. The posts received more than 37 million views on X in the hours afterwards.
UK is fine with WW3
‘Clear’ Israel has decided to respond to Iran attack: UK’s Cameron
British Foreign Minister David Cameron says it’s clear Israel has made the decision to respond to the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack. Cameron said he hoped the retaliation would be carried out in a way that “minimised” escalation.
“It’s clear the Israelis are making a decision to act,” Cameron, speaking to reporters in Israel, said. “We hope they do so in a way that does as little to escalate this as possible.”
Britain wants to see coordinated sanctions against Iran, he added. “They need to be given a clear unequivocal message by the G7.”
‘We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression’: Israel army
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari says Iran will not get off “scot-free” after Tehran and its allies launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel. “We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Hagari said.
World leaders have urged restraint and de-escalation in the aftermath of the unprecedented weekend attack.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said: “What our armed forces have done is a declaration to Washington and Israel’s supporters that our forces are strong and ready to face any threat. The Iranian military operation against Israel is a strategic defeat for the Zionist entity.”
Iran’s Raisi: We have shattered Israel’s perceived ‘hegemony’
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has completed his speech as Iran begins its annual military parade.
Here are highlights from his remarks:
- Iran’s weekend attack against Israel — operation “True Promise” — demonstrated the Iranian military’s strength and shattered Israel’s perceived “hegemony”.
- The attack against Israel was “limited” in nature. But if Israel retaliates by waging the slightest attack on Iranian interests, there will be a “fierce response”.
- Islamic countries that sought to normalise ties with Israel have experienced failure and are now “ashamed”.
- Public opinion is turning against the United States and Israeli governments at an unprecedented rate. This shows the “victory of the discourse of the Islamic resistance movement”.
- Iran’s armed forces are trustworthy, reliable, and a “source of pride for the Islamic Ummah”. Countries in the region should rely on “the powerful Muslim forces” rather than striking deals with Israel.
Divided Israeli war cabinet likely to deliver ‘measured’ response to Iran attack
For the first time in the history of the Middle East, there was a coalition of countries that worked together to protect Israel – including Arab countries – during Iran’s attack, an analyst says.
Part of Israel’s war cabinet would like to see more efforts towards this coalition-building as opposed to the “warmongers'” side which wants to attack Iran directly, said Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Israel’s retaliatory response is on the horizon but it will likely be “a measured, calculated one”, Qarmout told Al Jazeera.
Western leaders, meanwhile, have full leverage in directing Israel, while sanctions on Iran would hardly make an impact, he added. “I think the era of sanctions is over. I mean, you see the Russian-Ukraine war – Western countries were betting that Russia’s economy will collapse in three or four months. But it didn’t happen. Iran is more or less in a similar position. And it has a new strategic partners including Russia and China.”
