On Friday, March 13, Bridget Bean, former Acting Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the United States, stated in an interview with Fox News that Iranian authorities are using artificial intelligence to fabricate a “global narrative,” claiming that Iran thoroughly defeated the United States in the recent US-Iran war.
Bean mentioned in the interview that Iranian authorities, realizing they couldn’t win, resorted to using artificial intelligence and false global narratives to falsely proclaim victory. In the past, these attempts were easily identifiable, such as strange facial expressions or mismatched lip movements. However, it has been noticed that they have a certain level of proficiency in manipulating artificial intelligence.
Bean warned that individuals who are constantly swiping through their phones may not notice the discrepancies in these AI-generated deepfakes and should pay more attention to current events. The purpose of Iran’s actions is to weaken our will and determination by spreading falsehoods.
According to a report by the New York Post on Thursday, March 12, following reports that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was critically injured and unable to make public appearances, Iran promptly released artificially altered images of Mojtaba Khamenei.
BBC Verify’s senior journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh revealed to the media that both Iranian state media and Khamenei’s official social media accounts have recently published photos edited with artificial intelligence traces.
Bean further emphasized that Iranian authorities slightly manipulate real photos and videos with artificial intelligence to deceive people into believing they are authentic, aiming to pass off misinformation as reality. During the conflict that took place over 12 days last year, they employed similar tactics, marking the first time artificial intelligence-generated false information surpassed traditional propaganda in a global conflict.