The war in the Middle East has re-awakened an alarming feature of modern warfare: the weaponisation of disinformation.

Propaganda is certainly not a new concept, but militaries, governments and regimes can now control or disrupt the narrative with unfettered access to billions of people through social media.

This way, the truth can be twisted and disinformation can thrive.

Global citizens are witnessing the war in real-time.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sends war communications directly into phones via encrypted app Telegram and X.

The constant stream of contradicting updates is muddied further by citizen journalism, fake reports and artificial intelligence (AI).

"You get flooded with information and you think you're being informed, but often you're just getting pummeled with unverified data," Senior Policy Advisor at Australian National University (ANU)'s National Security College David Andrews told Nine.com.au.

"Basically no one is equipped to be able to filter that, and it's actually really bad for your mental health as well.

"It undermines your critical thinking, which is almost what these attempts rely on."

There is a constant power struggle between Iran, the US and Israel to be percieved as the "good" fighting "evil".

And all sides use social media to alter public perception.

Social media is now flooded with fake and unverified images, recycled footage and fabricated reports from on the ground in the war against Iran.

One disturbing AI video of Dubai's Burj Khalifa up in flames circulated on Instagram, while another fake report claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed.

The sheer scale of AI images and videos on social media means the untrained eye cannot discern what is real and what is not.

There is no rush to correct the record on either side and, like an infection, the reports spread.

Andrews said this unchecked disinformation highway is unprecedented.

"I think the disinformation campaigns are definitely ramping up now in a way that we haven't seen before, which is a function of the information environment that we're in," he said.

"And that is an opportunity that our adversaries have taken advantage of, I think, quite effectively."

AI is of particular concern as the conflict escalates and models become more sophistocated.

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting notes that AI acts as a "force multiplier, enhancing the speed, precision, and scale of military operations, while simultaneously enabling sophisticated, automated disinformation campaigns"

"And the more that AI-based systems and technology are normalised and pushed, I think those risks only accelerate to an enormous degree," Andrews said.

Militaries have quietly spun narratives of fake victories or exaggerated attacks too.

This type of fake news is particularly powerful inside a regime.

"It could be creating a generalised sense of uncertainty and distrust, a generalised sense of that one side is doing much better than they are in reality," Andrews said.

"But it could also be directed inwards and to say, 'Well, look, there's these reports of how wonderfully our forces are doing and how the enemy has been defeated'."

The horse has bolted on AI and fake news.

But Andrews said the average person can try to separate fact from fiction in a few different ways.

It takes a level of personal responsbility for your own algorithm.

"You have to read widely and try and find things that sort of complement the quick and reactive with the slower and more considerate," he said.

"Each has their place, but if we're just relying on something like social media that provides that minute-by-minute update, none of us are actually equipped to translate that information effectively.

"You might look at the flow of social media for a little bit, but then you've got to sit back and then read reports that happen over multiple days to try and balance that out and apply that critical lens."

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