Since the military operations between Israel, the US, and Iran kicked off, we have seen a deluge of fake clips passing off realistic war game footage as genuine combat footage. Caution is advised.

The military operations launched on February 28th have sent political and economic shockwaves across the globe. Naturally, this volatile climate has become a playground for bad actors, who are intentionally peddling sophisticated war simulation footage as if it were happening on the ground in the Middle East.

On the 2nd, a pro-Trump influencer shared a clip on X showing a warship downing a fighter jet, claiming it was real-time US-Iran combat—a post even shared by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. A quick analysis of the lighting and camera work, however, reveals this was nothing more than a snippet from 'War Thunder', featuring hardware straight out of the Second World War.

Footage from 'ARMA 3' has been subject to similar misuse. One widely shared video, purportedly showing Iranian forces firing missiles at a jet, was actually taken from an internet streamer's channel without permission.

With military sim graphics becoming alarmingly lifelike and AI-generated media getting sharper by the day, relying on visual information alone makes fact-checking difficult. The importance of verifying information spreading online is being emphasized.