As news broke of the US and Israeli governments' "major combat operation" against Iran, disinformation about the attack and Tehran's response flooded X, with hundreds of posts promoting misleading claims about the locations and scale of the attack.
According to a review by WIRED, some of these posts have racked up millions of views, with alleged video footage of the attack being shared that is actually months or years old, while other posts attribute video footage to incorrect locations.
Elon Musk's social media platform is struggling to contain the spread of disinformation, with many of the most viral posts coming from accounts with blue check marks, which pay X for its premium service and could be eligible to earn money based on engagement, even if the content is false.
Inside the Disinformation Machine
X's lack of effective moderation has created a haven for disinformation, especially during major breaking-news events, with the platform having previously struggled with inaccurate and faulty posts during the Israel-Hamas war and anti-immigration enforcement protests in LA.
Almost all of the most viral posts reviewed by WIRED came from accounts with blue check marks, which could be eligible to earn money based on engagement, even if the content is false, raising questions about the platform's ability to prioritize truth over profit.
One video posted by a blue-check-mark account claimed to show ballistic missiles over Dubai, but actually showed Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Tel Aviv in October 2024, and has been viewed over 4.4 million times.
The Security Tradeoff
The spread of disinformation on X has significant implications for national security, with the potential to inflame tensions and create confusion about the facts on the ground, and highlights the need for more effective moderation and fact-checking on the platform.
As X continues to struggle with disinformation, it is clear that the platform's lack of effective moderation is not just a problem for users, but also for the wider world, and that more needs to be done to address the issue and prevent the spread of false information.
With the use of AI-generated images and video game footage being passed off as real, the need for more effective moderation and fact-checking on X is more pressing than ever, and it remains to be seen whether the platform will be able to address the issue and restore trust in its users.
