File image.
Video footage purported to show Israeli strikes on headquarters of the Iranian military and revolutionary guards from the 12-day war last June have turned out to be generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
The footage, which spread across social networks starting from December 1, appears to have originated from an Instagram account that shared in the past AI generated video related to the Israeli-Iranian war.
The level of details in the latest AI video was, however, truly unprecedented. The footage, which were designed to look as if they were taken from surveillance cameras, shows what appears to be underground headquarters with people in Iranian military uniforms along with what appears to be air defense command and control equipment with real maps and realistic-looking parameters. Even the explosions appeared very realistic with bursts of fire and pressure knocking down people and equipment.
What also helped the video go viral was the inclusion of a real clip from an Israeli strike on an underground headquarters of the Iranian military from the start of the war.
The clip, included from 10 to 15 seconds in the AI video, was originally aired on November 28 by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) as a part of an interview with Brig. Gen. Reza Khajeh, Deputy for Operations of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force.
The entire AI video was apparently modeled after the footage aired by IRIB. In addition, the extremely high-level of details suggests that whoever made the video didn’t only use advanced AI models that are not yet available to everyone, but also had a good understanding of how such Iranian facilities look, and possibly even real visual samples.
Iranian state media quickly dismissed the video, but what helped expose that the footage were generated by AI were very minor details, like inaccurate ranks worn by the people, glitches in hands, irrational calm behaviour by the people after the blasts and the fact that the surveillance cameras were not affected at all by anything.
The video was likely the most successful known AI visual propaganda stunt to come out since the technology became widely available a few years ago.
There is currently no evidence linking the video to any side, but the involvement of well-organized Iranian opposition groups with vast resources like the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, or even the Israeli intelligence can’t be ruled out.
While few details helped expose this video, in a few years distinguishing such AI fakes will likely require much closer examination as this field is developing rapidly.
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