WASHINGTON: The satellite image posted by an Iranian news outlet looked real: a devastated US base in Qatar. But it was an AI-generated fake, underscoring the accelerating threat of tech-enabled disinformation during wartime.
The rise of generative AI has turbocharged the ability of state actors and propagandists to fabricate convincing satellite imagery during major conflicts, a trend that researchers warn carries real-world security implications.
As the US-Israeli war against Iran rages, Tehran Times, a state-aligned English daily, posted on X a “before vs. after” image it claimed showed “completely destroyed” US radar equipment at a base in Qatar.
In fact it was an AI-manipulated version of a Google Earth image from last year of a US base in Bahrain, researchers said.
The subtle visual giveaways included a row of cars parked in identical positions in both the authentic satellite photo and the manipulated image.
