A Lego War? Artificial Intelligence and the New Information Wars

The U.S.-Israel-Iran war has given rise to an unprecedented information landscape, one where LEGO battle scenes, memes, and AI-generated imagery blur the line between satire, propaganda, and reality. Today’s information wars are increasingly being shaped by the weaponization of artificial intelligence by both state and non-state actors, transforming the battlefield of public opinion. The viral appeal of AI-generated content has made information operations cheaper, faster, and exponentially more difficult to counter. These dynamics raise urgent questions about the future of information warfare and the tools proving most effective in shifting public opinion, establishing influence, and controlling the narrative.

Against this backdrop, the Middle East Council on Global Affairs (ME Council) convened a panel of experts to examine how AI is reshaping the narratives of modern conflict. Panelists explored a range of pressing questions, including how state and non-state actors are weaponizing AI-generated content? How are governments and regional publics responding? And ultimately, who controls the narratives of war?

Valerie Wirtschafter 

• Both covertly and overtly, technological advances in AI allow for the production of imagery and propaganda that is more sophisticated, albeit deceitful, than before, reducing the cost and creative labor required, drawing investment from both the Iranian and U.S. fronts. 

• While Iran has used AI to construct a narrative around the high cost of war for the U.S. and Israel, the U.S. has used these tools to glorify military operations and, unsuccessfully, create a rally-around-the-flag effect. 

• Algorithmic shifts have pushed to the top information that caters to base human psychology and emotions like survival and fear, while the entertainment component keeps people engaged, creating virality that can be monetized, a toxic information environment that is dangerous under normal circumstances but devastating during times of conflict. 

• The level of skepticism required to render content monitoring is not high enough at this point. Alternatives such as labeling to provide context are more effective, but there are limitations in detecting AI-generated content. 

• The covert use of AI as a tool of deception by Iran, exploiting U.S. domestic promises, the online space, and viable wedge issues, will likely serve as a template for other actors, increasing the need for a preemptive approach so that the public has accurate information when they most demand it. 

Mahsa Alimardani 

• The current war erupted amidst an internet shutdown in Iran, highlighting the extent of state control over the war-related narrative. The Iranian government has explicitly stated that the goal of this shutdown is to ensure a unified voice from inside Iran is projected to the outside world. 

• The void created by the lack of direct access to Iranian public opinion is being filled by state-generated narratives, such as the AI-generated Lego war videos produced by a Basij media company and by narratives from the opposing side, such as the Israeli flag projection video on the Ekbatan building. 

• The ideological and propaganda foundations of the current war were set and enshrined decades ago in the Islamic Republic’s constitution, which proclaims the post-revolutionary government as the representative of the oppressed and the Global South against Western imperial powers. 

• The Iranian state’s over-investment in documenting civilian casualties, in contrast to the repression of any documentation during the protest massacres earlier in the year, has created an environment where Iranian state reporting is accused of being AI-fabricated, while the state simultaneously uses the debunking of AI-generated content to cast doubt over any reporting of state-induced violence and oppression. 

Muhanad Seloom 

• The Iranian state has learned to adapt and play into the gamified image of the war, producing messaging more appealing and palatable to regional audiences in the Arab world and successfully buying the support of populations within the scope of the Axis of Resistance. 

• Iran, alongside Israel, is one of the few countries in the region that understood and invested in cybersecurity and the information space, reaching success in appealing to Western audiences, specifically MAGA populations, by targeting weak points in the narrative exposed by the war. 

• The restrictions and regulations imposed by social media platforms have so far failed; too many countries are trying to control a global information space, clashing with corporations whose primary aim is to generate revenue. 

• The existing governance framework is not adequate or equipped to respond to the information landscape threat posed by AI-generated content. The cost of countering fabricated information far outweighs the cost of producing it, creating an economic incentive for companies to take a more hesitant approach. 

• The Middle East, while not a center of production, is a testing bed for AI-generated content and information, as proven during the war on Gaza, be it in the automation of weaponry, data collection, and analysis.