Fake photos and videos of the war in the Middle East have flooded social media in the last week, and experts say the content is being used to spread misinformation and make money from viral posts.

Distinguishing between real and manipulated content is becoming increasingly difficult, as artificial intelligence advances at a rapid rate.

While fact-checking some of the content spreading online this week, 10 News+ found a video that had been taken from the Ukraine war in 2017, then edited and reposted to make it look like an Iranian attack on Israel.

University of Queensland AI expert Michael Noetel said misinformation spreads particularly fast during major global events.

“AI misinformation spreads really quickly in an environment like this because people are waking up and wanting to know what’s happening,” Noetel said.

While images have long been manipulated online, videos are traditionally harder to fake. However, advances in AI mean they can now be altered or misrepresented more easily.

In some cases, genuine footage is taken from different times or locations and reposted with misleading captions, making it more difficult for platforms and viewers to identify it as false.

Noetel said the best defence against AI-driven misinformation was careful verification.

“We have to doubt things that happen online and make sure we’re checking credible sources,” he said.

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