Benjamin Jensen, Nico Vacca, and Jose M. Macias III
We live in a surreal world in which battlefield success does not necessarily translate into an information advantage. Belief is suspended from reality largely because most of us spend hours of our waking lives bombarded by images, memes, and ephemeral social media content that is both tailored and increasingly augmented by AI. For every official press conference, no matter how masterful or awkward, viral pop culture pastiches blitz the senses. Homo economicus succumbs to giggles, fear, dopamine, and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Look no further than the war with Iran. The United States and Israel achieved unparalleled success on the battlefield, sinking large portions of Iranian naval capability and setting back its ballistic missile and nuclear program by years, if not decades. Yet, Iran counterattacked as much online as it did with salvos of ballistic missiles and drones. While U.S. leaders struggled to make a compelling case for the war, Iranian-linked accounts flooded social media with deepfakes, false claims of battlefield success, and narratives painting the conflict as a costly war driven by corrupt elite interests at the expense of ordinary Americans.
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