AI and Dated Photos Mislead About Pro-Regime Rallies in Iran

Misleading Pro-Regime Rallies

• ⚠️ Social media users are sharing misleading content about pro-regime rallies in Iran, using AI-generated footage and dated images.
• 📢 State media, including Iran's government-backed Press TV, broadcasted aerial footage claiming to show monumental crowds rallying in Tehran in support of the regime.
• 📣 The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting also shared similar images, claiming they depicted loyalists gathering in Revolution Square.

AI-Generated Content

• 🤖 A video shared by a social media user, showing the official flag of Iran stretching for miles with thousands of protesters, has been identified as AI-generated.
• 🧩 Closer inspection of the AI video reveals distorted facial features, with one protester appearing to blend into the flag.
• 🔍 The source of the AI video was traced to a TikTok account with a disclaimer stating it was AI-generated, and this account has since been suspended.

Dated and Out-of-Context Footage

• 🗓️ Other accounts are sharing dated footage out of context, misrepresenting it as current pro-government protests.
• 💔 An image shared on X, claimed to show a massive Iranian human wave supporting the Supreme Leader, was actually from January 6th, 2020, depicting the funeral of military leader Qasem Soleimani.
• 🔄 Multiple images from Qasem Soleimani's funeral are circulating and being misrepresented as current pro-government rally photos.

Challenges in Verification

• 📉 The Iranian government is attempting to downplay dissent and the extent of anti-government demonstrations.
• 🌐 The ongoing communications blackout in Iran makes it more difficult than ever to receive and verify images coming out of the country.
• 🔗 This difficulty leads users on social media to more readily share AI images and dated footage, often believing them to be real.