Generative AI Fuels Unprecedented Disinformation in Israel-Hamas Conflict
UC Berkeley professor Hany Farid explains that generative AI creates an "algorithmically driven fog of war" during the Israel-Hamas conflict, making it difficult to verify authentic media. The technology allows people to easily dismiss inconvenient facts as fabricated content.
Generative AI plays a surprising and pervasive role in the spread of disinformation following the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. UC Berkeley School of Information professor Hany Farid tells WIRED that the conflict generates an "algorithmically driven fog of war" that confounds major news organizations and leaves social media companies struggling to manage the overwhelming volume of content.
Farid notes that generative AI appears far more frequently in this conflict than it did at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He describes the technology as a constant "specter" hanging over any audio or video that claims to originate from the war zone. This persistent doubt forces journalists to work much harder to verify the authenticity of the materials they encounter online.
The widespread awareness of AI manipulation capabilities gives people a convenient excuse to dismiss authentic but inconvenient facts as fabricated content. Farid, who specializes in digital forensics, receives up to a dozen calls daily from reporters seeking help to determine the veracity of evidence. This dynamic fundamentally changes how information consumes and processes wartime media.