<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-march-19-donald-trump-officials-should-must-make-his-decisions-as-successful-as-possible-jd-vance-says-irans-new-supreme-leader-issues-a-rare-statement/db9709f9-041a-4e5d-a484-cec456ce469d" rel="" target="_blank" title="The war in the Middle East"><span>The war in the Middle East</span></a><span> has re-awakened an alarming feature of modern warfare: the weaponisation of disinformation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Propaganda is certainly not a new concept, but militaries, governments and regimes can now control or disrupt the narrative with unfettered access to billions of people through </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/social-media" rel="" target="_blank" title="social media."><span>social media.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This way, the truth can be twisted and disinformation can thrive.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-close-is-australia-to-recession-warning-signs-explained/f6c2e2a9-dc84-4f1c-8de3-d01c8e782eaa" rel="" target="_blank" title="Is Australia headed for a recession? The job data paints a grim picture"><strong><span>Is Australia headed for a recession? The job data paints a grim picture</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/national-cabinet-meeting-oil-supply-shock-war-iran-anthony-albanese/82395f65-e5ca-402b-a627-4e4fe8e41db1" target="_blank"><strong><span>PM's blunt message for hoarders ahead of national cabinet meeting on fuel supply</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Global citizens are witnessing the war in real-time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sends war communications directly into phones via encrypted app Telegram and X.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/us-israel-iran-war-how-ai-social-media-are-weaponising-disinformation-new-era-of-information-warfare/7a112fc8-7601-4da3-b595-87cd666b8ce5" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="_blank" title="US President Donald Trump"><span>US President Donald Trump</span></a><span> chronicles every move on his own Truth Social platform.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The constant stream of contradicting updates is muddied further by citizen journalism, fake reports and artificial intelligence (AI).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You get flooded with information and you think you're being informed, but often you're just getting pummeled with unverified data," Senior Policy Advisor at Australian National University (ANU)'s National Security College David Andrews told </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/?rf=true" rel="" target="_blank" title="Nine.com.au."><span>Nine.com.au.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Basically no one is equipped to be able to filter that, and it's actually really bad for your mental health as well.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It undermines your critical thinking, which is almost what these attempts rely on."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There is a constant power struggle between Iran, the US and Israel to be percieved as the "good" fighting "evil".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And all sides use social media to alter public perception.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pauline-hanson-policies-stance-on-immigration-housing-voting-record-explained/1a21d57d-cddd-4ba5-b1ce-0b564e205b79" target="_blank"><strong><span>One Nation's popularity is surging. But what does Pauline Hanson's party actually stand for?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Social media is now flooded with fake and unverified images, recycled footage and fabricated reports from on the ground in the war against Iran.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One disturbing AI video of Dubai's Burj Khalifa up in flames circulated on Instagram, while another fake report claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The sheer scale of AI images and videos on social media means the untrained eye cannot discern what is real and what is not.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>There is no rush to correct the record on either side and, like an infection, the reports spread.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Andrews said this unchecked disinformation highway is unprecedented.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think the disinformation campaigns are definitely ramping up now in a way that we haven't seen before, which is a function of the information environment that we're in," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And that is an opportunity that our adversaries have taken advantage of, I think, quite effectively."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>AI is of particular concern as the conflict escalates and models become more sophistocated.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://iwpr.net/global-voices/weaponising-digital-space-war" rel="" target="_blank" title="The Institute for War &amp; Peace Reporting"><span>The Institute for War &amp; Peace Reporting</span></a><span> notes that AI acts as a "force multiplier, enhancing the speed, precision, and scale of military operations, while simultaneously enabling sophisticated, automated disinformation campaigns"</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And the more that AI-based systems and technology are normalised and pushed, I think those risks only accelerate to an enormous degree," Andrews said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Militaries have quietly spun narratives of fake victories or exaggerated attacks too.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This type of fake news is particularly powerful inside a regime.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/how-to-fly-to-europe-from-australia-without-stopping-over-middle-east-explained/f9f0fe00-fa2d-48e8-853b-95e843c617ff" target="_blank"><strong><span>How can Aussie travellers get to Europe now major Middle East airports are shut?</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It could be creating a generalised sense of uncertainty and distrust, a generalised sense of that one side is doing much better than they are in reality," Andrews said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But it could also be directed inwards and to say, 'Well, look, there's these reports of how wonderfully our forces are doing and how the enemy has been defeated'."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The horse has bolted on AI and fake news.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Andrews said the average person can try to separate fact from fiction in a few different ways.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It takes a level of personal responsbility for your own algorithm.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You have to read widely and try and find things that sort of complement the quick and reactive with the slower and more considerate," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Each has their place, but if we're just relying on something like social media that provides that minute-by-minute update, none of us are actually equipped to translate that information effectively.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You might look at the flow of social media for a little bit, but then you've got to sit back and then read reports that happen over multiple days to try and balance that out and apply that critical lens."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><em><strong><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Apple</span></strong></em></a><span> </span><em><strong><span>and</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>Google Play</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>ticking this box here</span></strong></em></a></li><li><em><strong><span>Sign up to</span></strong></em><span> </span><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" target="" title=""><em><strong><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></strong></em></a></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul></ul></div></div>