Fact-Checking | The Campaign of Fake News by the Islamic Republic Media to Portray the Attack on Israel as Successful

The widespread dissemination of false information and fake images by the Islamic Republic regarding the attack on Israeli territory on April 15, 2024, faced a significant backlash from fact-checking experts and social media users. In the early hours following the attack, narratives were broadcasted by state media and government-affiliated outlets claiming that ballistic missiles hit military targets, Israeli citizens fled, and Palestinians celebrated at Al-Aqsa Mosque, all of which were false. These images were initially shared on social media accounts close to the Iranian government and were subsequently repeated multiple times on state television. Meanwhile, Israeli officials announced that over 99% of the 300 Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted and destroyed by Israel's missile defense systems and its allies, with only a 'few' ballistic missiles reaching Israel without causing serious damage. In the early hours of the attack, a fake image was shared by the Jam Jam accounts and the Iran newspaper on X, stating that 'the most important Israeli airbase was targeted by Khyber missiles.' Farhad Souzanchi from the 'Fact-Nameh' website told VOA that this fake image was originally 'an old image of a fire in Chile' that state media attributed to 'the effects of a missile hitting an Israeli base.' This fact-checking expert discussed the 'new campaign of fake news by the Islamic Republic,' noting that from the first hours, official accounts affiliated with the Iranian government published images aimed at making these attacks appear impactful. Another fake image repeatedly broadcasted by official Iranian media falsely claimed to show the joy of Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque following the Iranian attack on Israel, while the original footage was from a Ramadan ceremony shared on TikTok on April 5. A fake image attributed to the Iranian government and 'the ineffectiveness of Israeli defense' actually depicted Ukrainian missiles hitting a Russian ship in southern Ukraine on March 24. Another fake image published by the Shargh newspaper, citing Nournews, a media outlet linked to the Supreme National Security Council, claimed to show the fleeing of settlers in Israel, but these images were actually from a gathering of supporters of an English singer in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Media expert Omid Memarian commented on the methods of news fabrication by official Iranian media, stating that these methods 'bear a strong resemblance to Russian patterns.' He added that government media 'publish false news, for example, a scene of an explosion that is usually quickly identified, disseminated through multiple fake accounts, and try to capture attention for a short period.' Memarian noted that regardless of whether government media officials 'know that fact-checking will occur and their lies will be exposed, they generally want to distort the information space and create a sense of distrust among people.' Fact-checking expert Farhad Souzanchi compared the methods of fabrication and 'exaggeration campaign' regarding the Iranian attack on Israel to the Islamic Republic's fake news during the attack on Ain al-Asad base in Iraq. This retaliatory attack followed the assassination of Qassem Soleimani on January 7, 2020, targeting American military forces stationed at two Iraqi bases. Souzanchi added, 'We know that at that time, no one was killed and the damages were minimal, but a campaign quickly started, especially on social media, to exaggerate the number of casualties, damages, and losses, from document forgery to unrelated photo manipulations and fake tweets from an Israeli journalist.' This fact-checking expert, examining the patterns of news fabrication by the Islamic Republic during the nationwide protests of 2022, noted, 'We see various patterns, one of which was exaggeration or minimization.' Another feature is the 'repetition of false news' in various forms, from the dissemination of fake news to false claims by government officials. Souzanchi emphasized the systematic nature of the 'fake news fabrication campaign,' stating that government media aim to create the image for their audience that this operation was 'a large, very impactful, and successful attack, and the solution is to repeat and muddy the media and information space.'