Iran Uses AI-Generated Images to Deny Crackdown on Protesters

Iranian state-linked media outlets are weaponizing artificial intelligence-generated imagery in a sophisticated disinformation campaign designed to cast doubt on authentic documentation of the regime's brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters, according to an investigation by France24.The manipulation centers on images from Tehran's Kahrizak morgue, where preliminary estimates suggest between 6,000 and 20,000 demonstrators have been killed since security forces began an unprecedented suppression campaign on January 8, according to NGOs and UN Special Rapporteur Mai Sato.Fars News Agency, which maintains close ties to the Iranian government, has been circulating both AI-generated and authentic photographs from the morgue in a deliberate attempt to discredit all visual evidence of the massacres. The agency shared two similar images showing a young woman mourning among hundreds of wrapped bodies in the morgue's courtyard, claiming both were artificially generated.However, verification analysis reveals a more complex picture. While one image does bear the Gemini AI logo and was confirmed as AI-generated using Google's SynthID detection tool, the second photograph is authentic and was originally shared by an Iranian blogger documenting conditions at the facility.The strategic presentation of genuine and fabricated images together represents what experts characterize as a systematic effort to undermine credible reporting on the regime's actions. By suggesting all morgue documentation is artificial, Iranian authorities seek to create doubt about the scale of casualties from their security operations.Satellite imagery from Vantor and multiple verified videos filmed at the morgue confirm the authenticity of the genuine photograph, establishing its location within the facility's courtyard. The verification process involved cross-referencing architectural features, including a distinctive red-roofed building and brown-beige wall structures visible across multiple sources.The BBC and Human Rights Watch estimate that at least 200-400 demonstrator bodies were brought to the Kahrizak facility alone, representing only a fraction of the total casualties from the ongoing crackdown that began three weeks ago.This case illustrates the emerging challenge of AI-generated content in conflict zones, where sophisticated disinformation campaigns can exploit technological capabilities to obscure human rights violations and manipulate public perception of government actions.Source: France24