AFP, Washington

Recycled images, video game footage passed off as missile strikes, and AI-generated combat visuals: the US-Israeli assault on Iran has unleashed a torrent of online disinformation that analysts are calling a war of narratives.

Since US and Israeli strikes over the weekend ignited a regional conflict, a parallel information war has erupted, with supporters on both sides flooding social media with falsehoods that often spread faster than the facts on the ground.

AFP’s fact-checkers have debunked a series of claims by pro-Iranian accounts posting old videos to exaggerate the damage from Tehran’s missile strikes on Israel and Gulf states including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

“There is definitely a narrative war unfolding online,” Moustafa Ayad, from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), told AFP.

“Whether it was to rationalize the strikes across the Gulf, or to trumpet Iranian military might in the face of the Israeli and US strikes, the goals seem to be wear down ‘enemies.’”