Editor’s note: Fact Hunter is a fact-checking service dedicated to verifying viral claims and combating misinformation in the AI era. This analysis examines how false narratives spread during the Israel-Iran conflict, blending technological manipulation with emotional triggers. We remain committed to evidence-based verification and media literacy.
The 12-day Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025 saw rampant misinformation spread online. Fact Hunter’s investigation examined multiple misinformation cases, analyzed fact-checking responses and cross-referenced public sentiment from over 10,000 social media comments across platforms, including X, Bluesky, YouTube and Reddit.
The sentiment analysis employed a hybrid approach: Large language models processed the dataset to identify topics and emerging narratives before human analysts verified and contextualized these findings with emotion through qualitative assessment. This AI-human collaborative methodology revealed gaps of focus between truth and popular belief during the hostilities.
AI models analyzed over 10,000 comments on social media platform X during the 12 days of the Israel-Iran conflict to summarise the topics and narratives that people focused on.
Early conflict: Misrepresented military intentions
Following Israel’s airstrike on Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 13, 2025, misinformation surged, focusing on exaggerated military capabilities and distorted political statements.
A manipulated clip of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech, falsely edited to include threats against Pakistan, exemplified how historical footage was weaponized during the conflict – a recurring misinformation tactic that required rapid fact checking.
Early discussions were largely neutral (1,773 comments), centered on factual updates (e.g., “Iran missile launch confirmed”).
Escalation: Fabricated combat narratives
As the conflict intensified, misinformation tactics evolved to exaggerate military outcomes and fabricate dramatic events, with both Israeli and Iranian narratives employing similar manipulation techniques.
1. Israel’s offensive: Misrepresented attacks
Old videos from previous Israel-Iran conflicts and even Russia-Ukraine war footage were falsely presented as current attacks. Several media agencies confirmed these were deliberate misattributions designed to inflame tensions.
2.Iran’s retaliation: AI-generated attacks
An old video was also used in the misinformation related to Iran’s retaliation. We have verified one of the typical cases. A 2018 U.S. military jet crash video was rebranded as an Israeli F-35 destroyed by Iran. Through reverse search, combined with media coverage and the information of airspace shutdown, we determined the case was presented out of context.
AI-generated content featured prominently in misinformation about Iran’s retaliation. Fact Hunter verified two such cases: a fabricated video of an attack on Tel Aviv and a manipulated photo falsely claiming to show an Israeli plane downed by Iran.
The cover of Fact Hunter’s report on AI-manipulated video falsely linked to Iran’s attack on Tel Aviv
Our analysis found that some original sources clearly labeled the content as AI-generated, but this information was missing during dissemination. The photos and videos contained detectable anomalies – including unnatural visual effects, inconsistent details and unrealistic proportions of elements – highlighting the need for public vigilance in assessing such material.
The prevalence of these AI-manipulated videos underscores key challenges: Information indicating AI-generated content is often missing during viral sharing, while subtle technical flaws are identifiable markers. These findings emphasize the growing importance of media literacy in an era of increasingly sophisticated synthetic content.
The escalation period highlighted the growing sophistication of conflict-related misinformation, with two notable developments:
- The recycling of historical footage continued to pose verification challenges
- AI-generated content emerged as an increasingly prevalent tool for fabricating plausible scenarios
This shift underscores the urgent need for improved detection methods and public media literacy initiatives.
Through our data insights, we found public reaction has following features:
- Negative sentiment spiked (5,926 comments) around these events, with terms like “missile” (1,403 mentions) and “nuclear” (1,184) dominating discussions.
- Neutral comments (1,773) often sought verification, reflecting distrust in unverified claims.
How Fact Hunter tackles wartime misinformation
The Israel-Iran conflict exposed three critical challenges in fighting fake news:
- The race against time
False claims spread faster than verification process. Viral posts reached a massive audience before corrections went live. - Emotion over truth
Dramatic AI-generated videos of explosions and attacks prove that sensational content spreads more, whether real or not. - Missing the big picture
While debunking individual claims, broader context about regional players and motivations often got overlooked.
Conclusion: Truth is the first casualty of war
Besides the casualty of truth in the Israel-Iran conflict, comments data reveals more details:
- Audiences sought balance: Neutral comments (1,773) outweighed positive ones (1,103), yet negativity (5,926) dominated humanitarian and U.S.-related discussions.
- Misinformation thrived on fear: Weaponized terms like “nuclear” and “missile” amplified anxiety, while AI content exploited visual trust.
Final Note: Fact-checking must evolve to address both viral lies and audience concerns. The public’s focus on civilian harm and geopolitics (as seen in comment clusters) offers a roadmap for more responsive verification.
False information related to war can incite emotions and cause panic. As a fact-checking service, Fact Hunter will continue to track relevant information, make necessary verification, and help the public identify the truth. On this basis, we will provide more comprehensive verification methods and ideas, cultivate public media literacy, and adhere to the comprehensive, objective and neutral reporting of events to ensure the public’s right to access information.
Have a questionable video or claim? Submit it to Fact Hunter’s investigation team at [therealfacthunter@outlook.com].
