Although Jamal Khashoggi A (clumsy and not-quite-similar) man was trying on his shoes and clothes as he was carefully butchered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The plan was for the imposter to appear on CCTV cameras as he left the consulate and walked back to Khashoggi’s residence. The plan ultimately failed because Turkish intelligence had wiretapped the consulate and documented exactly what happened.
This is one of the first attempts by state actors to manipulate other countries (or the public) through CCTV footage. However, recent actions by Iranian state television have taken this information warfare to a different level.
To understand this, and the new threat posed by fake CCTV, it is important to understand three types of information confusion: 1) misinformation, which refers to false information intended to harm others, and 2) misinformation, which refers to false information intended to harm others. , and 3) malicious information (borrowed from the French), which is truthful information posted with the intent to do harm, the most obvious examples being revenge porn or leaks.
Although disinformation has been widely discussed as a powerful weapon used by state and non-state actors, especially given the rapid rise of artificial intelligence tools capable of generating fabricated text, voice, and moving or still images, disinformation creates the most Potent opportunities for bad actors. Since most common forms of misinformation require manipulation of the context rather than the information itself, they can be scaled cheaper and faster. It is often more difficult to debunk real information in a manipulated context.
The most pervasive instances of misinformation often require changing the context of the real information or embedding it in a different context. For example, someone could take an actual photo of a crime scene somewhere in the world and, by deliberately changing its date and location, link it to another event in a different part of the world in order to damage the reputation of the crime scene. rival or hostile group. Also, deliberately mistranslating someone’s words or using selective citations can completely change the meaning of what was said. Leaks and hacks that expose real but private information to the public can also lead to misinformation.
Most information warfare uses disinformation and malicious information. Deepfakes, for example, are a fusion of both. An example of this is the notoriously manipulated Obama speech, where he deliberately used his real voice, facial expressions, and gestures to deliver completely fabricated words. Sophisticated information manipulation often also incorporates disinformation and misinformation. Khashoggi’s case may not have worked out, but Nika Shakarami’s intricate case during the recent Iran protests deserves scrutiny.
Nika Shakarami was a 17-year-old girl who died during protests in September 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Nika dropped out of high school and left her home in the western province to join her mother’s older sister in a working-class neighborhood in southern Tehran. She works at one of dozens of cafés in central Tehran, a hangout for college students.
In the first days of the protests, her aunt announced her disappearance. Since there are already photos and videos of her at the protests, many suspect she was killed by aggressive riot police who didn’t hesitate to brutally point rubber batons at the heads of young protesters of both sexes. The regime fears being blamed for the death of another young woman like Martha, which could spark a massive surge in street protests. With several other young girls missing, authorities need to change their story, or at least divide the public about the reasons for their sudden deaths.
