Self-proclaimed digital ‘investigators’ fuel misinformation after Iran attacks Israel

Much of the fake news about the Iran attacks was posted by accounts pretending to be “OSINT,” or Open Source Intelligence

Washington:

Horrified onlookers crouched behind walls as lights streaked across the night sky in what self-proclaimed digital investigators claimed was footage captured by an Iranian drone flying over Israel. But the video has been out for months and has been repurposed to spread misinformation.

Iran launched an unprecedented wave of drones and missiles at Israel over the weekend, raising tensions during a Middle East war that has seen a flood of misinformation see social media sites like X (formerly Twitter) flooded with distortions Image.

Researchers believe many of the lies about the Iran attacks were amplified by investigators posing as “open source intelligence,” or OSINT, or open-source intelligence, who posed as digital expertise and further blurred the distinction between fact and fiction.

The trend, also prevalent in the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict, highlights the confusion that can be caused by a small number of influence-seeking accounts in a fast-unfolding crisis, some of which appear to be exploiting X profit from misinformation. .

Isabelle Frances-Wright, technical director at the non-profit Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), told AFP: “The fact that so much misinformation is being spread by accounts seeking influence or financial gain makes it even more Provides cover for evil actors.”

“The erosion of the information landscape is seriously undermining audiences’ ability to discern truth from fiction.”

The Interior Department discovered nearly three dozen false, misleading or artificial intelligence-generated images and videos that claimed to show Iranian attacks online.

In the hours after Iran announced the attack, the posts were viewed more than 37 million times on X.

“Amplification through algorithms”

Researchers say Iranian state media has distorted old footage of Chilean wildfires, falsely claiming it showed damage from Israeli airstrikes, leading to a proliferation of misinformation.

But accounts with “open source intelligence” or similar labels also heavily pollute the information environment, apparently to lend legitimacy to their posts.

They were among the users who misrepresented videos of people ducking for cover as footage of Iranian attacks.

AFP fact-checkers found that the video was filmed near a gas station in the Israeli city of Sderot in July 2023, when the military said it intercepted a rocket fired from Gaza.

But the video spread quickly on

The anonymous account, which uses photos of the late Syrian general and frequently changes its name on X, has a large following while often amplifying lies about the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as U.S. President Joe Biden.

Many accounts peddling misinformation bought blue checkmarks on the Elon Musk-owned platform, allowing their content to be amplified by the site’s algorithm.

After Musk acquired

“Noise in Discourse”

The blue check changes are among a series of controversial policies launched by Musk that some misinformation experts say prioritize engagement over accuracy.

In addition to reinstating thousands of once-banned accounts, the platform has launched an advertising revenue sharing program that appears to provide financial incentives for verified users who spread hate and disinformation.

These include SprinterFactory and other “OSINT” influencers, who often seek donations from their followers or profit from their content.

“Combined with this pay-to-play amplification effect, posting misleading and inflammatory content allows these accounts to fill the vacuum of verified information during crisis events, further growing their followings,” ISD researchers said in a report and influence.”

The emergence of imposter OSINT accounts has complicated the work of trusted researchers, so much so that many of them now actively avoid using abbreviations to describe their work.

“When an account created in the past two years uses OSINT in the title, you can usually safely assume they are a poser who knows nothing about the open source investigation community,” Eliot Higgins of Digital Inc. ) said. Investigative team Bellingcat told AFP.

“It just adds more noise to the discussion around the incident,” he told AFP.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)