Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, a wave of misinformation tied to the ongoing Iran conflict has spread rapidly across social media, raising concerns about how easily false narratives can take hold during wartime. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) how pro-Iran disinformation campaigns have circulated AI-generated and misleading imagery—such as false claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln was destroyed, 2) the viral but largely uncorroborated allegation that U.S. troops were given apocalyptic briefings linking the war to Biblical prophecy, 3) online rumors that a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran despite Pentagon denials, and 4) new steps by social media platform X to curb AI-generated war propaganda as concerns mount over the growing role of artificial intelligence in spreading convincing but misleading information online.
Quote of the Week
“We are now currently in an era where you cannot trust information by default on open social media platforms anymore.”
– Brandon Amacher, Emerging Tech Policy Lab, Utah Valley University
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Disinformation Surges Online as Iran War Fuels Viral False Claims
This week, as the Iran conflict continues to escalate, an alarming surge in online disinformation, including AI-generated imagery, misleading photos, and unverified viral claims have begun to see widespread circulation online.
The spread of such false information highlights growing concerns about how social media and AI tools are amplifying propaganda and false information during wartime, prompting platforms like X to introduce new policies aimed at limiting undisclosed AI-generated content.
In many cases seen in recent days, such viral postings have attempted to exaggerate Tehran’s success since the conflict began last weekend. In one Facebook post that went viral this week, imagery allegedly showed the USS Abraham Lincoln in flames following an Iranian attack.
“Targeting the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, which America and its clients were boasting about,” read a translation from an original Arabic language post featuring the imagery that appeared on Twitter. “Four ballistic missiles were enough for it!”
The imagery and posts were part of a broader pro-Iranian effort across social media that has shared false or misleading information since the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign began.
Responding to the claims in a post on its official X account, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote that “Iran’s IRGC claims to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles. LIE.”
“The Lincoln was not hit,” the posting added. Although CENTCOM confirmed that Iranian missiles had, in fact, been launched at the carrier, none had reached their target.
“The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” CENTCOM’s posting read. “The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”
In some instances, including the imagery purportedly depicting the USS Lincoln in flames, the closer inspection of the images reveals obvious signs that the images were AI-generated, with telltale signs including the addition, absence, or misplacement of several of the Lincoln’s defense capabilities.
Other images circulated by pro-Iran social media accounts showed real imagery, but from events unrelated to the current conflict. In another instance, imagery showing a fire in Tel Aviv that social media posts claimed to be representative of events that have transpired since the recent Iran conflict began was actually of a fire that occurred in October 2024.
Claims of “Armageddon” and Apocalyptic Briefings to U.S. Troops
Another viral story circulating online this week alleges that as many as 200 U.S. troops across 50 military installations were recently told the war in Iran was intended to fulfill Biblical prophecy and hasten “the return of Christ.”
The bizarre allegation originated in a Substack report citing the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), which said it had received numerous complaints from service members about apocalyptic religious briefings allegedly given by military leaders.
However, an investigation by The Debrief revealed yesterday that the claim appears to rely primarily on a single email from a non-commissioned officer, which MRFF said represented a broader pattern of incidents that remain confidential to protect whistleblowers.
Reporting for The Debrief, contributor Ryan Whalen tells us he found little independent corroboration of the allegations, and that other organizations that monitor church–state issues in the military, including the Freedom From Religion Foundation, said they had not received any similar complaints.
Additionally, critics noted inconsistencies in the reporting and questioned the reliability of MRFF’s evidence. When contacted, MRFF defended the claims, though it acknowledged that most reports it said it had received were not documented incidents reported to the organization firsthand, but instead involved phone calls or second-hand information, citing several dozens of complaints.
Ultimately, the story highlights how quickly dramatic claims can spread in today’s polarized environment, even when supporting evidence remains limited or unclear.
A U.S. Air Force F-15E Shot Down Over Iran?
Also on Wednesday, unverified reports circulating online claimed that a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle had crashed during a strike mission over southwestern Iran.
Several media outlets carried the story, which followed an incident where a trio of F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft were mistakenly shot down by Kuwait’s air defense system in an unusual friendly fire incident.
According to several sources cited by reporters and posts circulating on X, the unconfirmed fourth F-15E loss allegedly occurred during combat operations in the region.
“The cause of the reported crash remains unknown,” read a report that appeared at the Turkish news website Turkiye Today. “At least one source cited in the reports attributed the incident to Iranian air defenses,” the report added, noting that the pilots on board the aircraft had reportedly ejected safely over Iranian territory.
Responding to the claims on its official X account, U.S. Central Command fired back, calling the claims “baseless.”
“Rumors circulating on social media of a U.S. F-15E crash in Iran early Wednesday are baseless and NOT TRUE,” the CENTCOM X posting read.
Combating False Information
Following the recent surge in false or misleading information online since the Iran conflict erupted, X announced that it will suspend accounts from the social media platform’s revenue-sharing program if they are caught posting AI-generated videos depicting any armed conflicts, if the creators do not disclose that they were made using AI.
“Today we are revising our Creator Revenue Sharing policies to maintain authenticity of content on Timeline and prevent manipulation of the program,” wrote X’s head of product advisor Nikita Bier in a posting on Tuesday.
“During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground,” Bier’s posting read. “With today’s AI technologies, it is trivial to create content that can mislead people.”
As of the time of the posting, Bier said that all X users who posted such videos without proper disclosures would be suspended from the platform’s Creator Revenue Sharing for a period of 90 days.
“Subsequent violations will result in a permanent suspension from the program,” Bier added. “We will continue to refine our policies and product to ensure X can be trusted during these critical moments.”
The surge in false information since the Iran conflict began only adds to growing concerns over the rate at which often convincing-looking AI-generated content is being misused. Such incidents have seen AI used for social or political reasons, as well as for purposes of disinformation and propaganda, as several cases from over the last few days highlight.
Others use such technologies purely for profit, raising concerns not only the spread of misleading information online, but also the imagery and information sources such AI systems tap when producing such content.
Speaking with ABC4 out of Salt Lake City, Utah, Brandon Amacher, director of the Emerging Tech Policy Lab at Utah Valley University, said our current world information environment is “tricky,” and that along with the erosion of reliable information online, AI is increasingly becoming a key weapon in the creation of false information during times of conflict.
“It’s essentially a propaganda goldmine for whoever would like to spread misinformation,” Amacher said.
That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.
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