Shayan Sardarizadeh

Hello to all the new people migrating from X. I'm a BBC journalist and fact-checker. Please flag any potentially misleading viral claims either on Bluesky or any other social media platform that needs fact-checking via DM, and I'll do the rest. Thank you!

In the space of 24 hours, Naomi Wolf has claimed that the fires in LA are an actual war or foreign invasion, a plot to kill people to destroy evidence of Covid vaccine adverse effects, weather manipulation, a deliberate bombing campaign, and mass spraying of mood stabilisers.

Elon Musk has shared this fake E! News video on X, which claims USAID has paid millions to Hollywood celebrities to visit Ukraine. The clip, now community noted, is the work of a well-known Russian disinformation campaign that creates fake videos of news outlets to push anti-Ukrainian narratives.

Elon Musk has shared an obviously AI-generated image of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London. The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.

This image, which claims to show one of the airmen rescued by US special forces from Iran, has racked up millions of views after being shared by some major influencers, and even by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The image is AI-generated and features multiple errors.

Multiple weapons experts have disputed a US claim that Iran may have been responsible for a deadly strike on the town of Lamerd on the first day of the Iran war, which killed 21 people. Weapons experts say a US PrSM missile was likely used in the strike. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On the first day of the Iran war, at least two strikes hit a residential block and a sports hall in the town of Lamerd, killing 21 people, including four children. Our investigation reveals the attack was likely a US strike, carried out with new generation Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM).

I hope that if there's one thing that this Iran conflict and the explosion of online misinformation about it has laid bare for most people is the significance of content verification and fact-checking in the digital age. AI cannot replace human verification, at least not just yet.

Footage published by Iranian media today shows damage to Chehel Sotoon, a 17th century, Safavid-era landmark palace and garden located in the historic centre of Isfahan, after air strikes in its vicinity. The Persian garden that surrounds the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A newly published video shows that a US Tomahawk missile hit a medical clinic inside an IRGC base and near a primary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab where the authorities said 168 people, including around 110 children, were killed. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

BBC Verify has analysed verified videos and satellite imagery that show severe damage to a hospital, sporting centres, a UNESCO world heritage site and two schools since US and Israeli strikes on Iran began on Saturday, as the number of civilian casualties grows. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

BBC Verify has pieced together verified videos, satellite imagery and expert views after a deadly attack near a primary school in Minab, souther Iran, which suggest the area was hit more than once "by multiple simultaneous or near-simultaneous strikes". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Iran/US/Israel war might have already broken the record for the highest number of AI-generated videos and images that have gone viral during a conflict. Interestingly, I said the exact same thing right after the 12-day war in June. Welcome to our brave new world of AI misinformation.

THREAD: Misinformation in the Iran/US/Israel war - 3 March This viral video claims to show the aftermath of a reported drone attack on the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, tonight. But the video was posted last week to TikTok, and shows an unrelated car accident in Riyadh.