On Iran’s official television networks and through a network of affiliated or sympathetic social media accounts, the country is striving to present a resolute image despite thousands of strikes from Israel and the United States that have hammered its cities, military bases and political leadership.
It is waging an information war parallel to the real-world fighting, blending fact and fiction, often using unproven claims and fake videos generated using artificial intelligence.
In Tehran’s telling, Iranian missiles have ravaged Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities, its jets have decimated an American aircraft carrier, and hundreds of Americans have been killed at bases and embassies around the region. The messages convey resilience, presenting the country as not only fighting back but winning.
In reality, while Iran has retaliated on multiple fronts, damaging Israeli cities and nearby American bases, the country’s counteroffensive has resulted in fewer deaths and less damage than its state media has described.
“It’s flooding the zone with content that projects strength in the wake of attacks on Iran — and it’s similarly distorting the picture of what is actually happening inside the country,” said Moustafa Ayad, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a group in London that studies disinformation.
State-linked outlets are also amplifying unverified claims and half-truths, according to Alethea, a digital risk analysis company. An unverified claim that the Iranian military completely destroyed an American radar installation in Qatar, for example, was shared in an online article by the Tehran Times newspaper and in an X post accompanied by an A.I.-manipulated image from the Tasnim news agency, according to Alethea.
A social media account linked to the Iranian military claimed that 560 Americans had been killed or wounded so far in the fighting, far higher than the six deaths reported by the Pentagon. From there, TASS, a Russian state news agency, circulated the claim, followed by RT, another Kremlin-backed outlet. The claim was eventually picked up by a variety of social media accounts and channels.
Mr. Ayad of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue said that many of those accounts appeared to be coordinating or copying the messaging. Some were until recently focused on entertainment content, but appeared to have been purchased or taken over for influence operations.
Some accounts disseminated debunked rumors via copypasta, a type of internet message that is repeatedly copied and pasted and shared.
The United States has taken steps to respond to some of the narratives.
On the second day of the war, an anchor on Iranian state television read a statement from the military claiming that the Abraham Lincoln, one of the American aircraft carriers involved in the initial strikes, had been “attacked by four ballistic missiles.” It was not.
The United States Central Command, which oversees American forces in the region, used its account on X to fact-check false claims. “LIE,” it wrote in response to the posts about the Abraham Lincoln, which had been seen by millions of users. “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close.”
Iranian state media has also criticized foreign news sources and social media for presenting what it called a warped vision of the war effort. “It is broadcasting fake, disheartening news, and in no way does it cover our successes at all,” a media analyst complained during an interview on Islamic Republic of Iran News Network.
To Iran’s adversaries, the danger of its media apparatus is clear. The United States has made an effort to debunk some of the claims. Among Israel’s bombing targets, along with military and government infrastructure, was the hub of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the state television and radio broadcaster. The United States and Israel have also tried to shape coverage of the conflict, including by providing limited information about some of the damages they have incurred.
Tiffany Hsu reports on the information ecosystem, including foreign influence, political speech and disinformation. “I am based in Northern California. One day, I hope to write about my great passion: fried chicken.”
Steven Lee Myers covers misinformation and disinformation from San Francisco.
Stuart A. Thompson writes for The Times about online influence, including the people, places and institutions that shape the information we all consume. “I live with my wife, son and beloved cat in New York.”