By Tonio Galea, Senior Editor, The Dispatch-CDE News
There is an old saying: “In war, truth is the first casualty.” This has never been more relevant than it is today.
While the origins of the phrase are debated, it certainly predates the internet. The digital age has made fact-checking more accessible; yet, paradoxically, it has also blurred the lines between fact and fiction. The phrase “fake news” has become an indiscriminate label, often used to dismiss inconvenient truths and decimate any sensible debate – a phenomenon made especially clear during the COVID-19 pandemic that continues to shape public belief today.
The sheer volume of misinformation, compounded by doctored images from conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East to mention two current ones, has left many questioning whether what they see is real or manipulated.
Social media has been flooded with misattributed videos, including old footage from Syria or Palestine presented as recent Ukrainian events. Some images of destroyed buildings were actually from past conflicts but were used to bolster narratives on both sides.
In the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s subsequent retaliation, videos from past conflicts in Syria, Yemen and even video games were widely circulated as current events. Some pro-Palestinian activists used outdated images of bombings, while Israeli sources misrepresented unrelated footage as evidence of Hamas tunnels and operations.
In the past, the spread of false information was primarily the domain of governments, often tied to national security apparatuses.
The Soviet Union had a highly organized system for spreading misinformation, known as “dezinformatsiya” (disinformation) – a term that became widely recognized due to Soviet intelligence operations, with Soviet agencies dedicating significant resources to deception, propaganda, and psychological warfare.
At the forefront was the KGB, which operated a specialized division responsible for spreading false information; forging documents; planting fake news in Western media; and influencing public opinion in adversary states. The primary goal was to discredit Western governments and institutions, particularly the United States and NATO.
The techniques developed by the KGB’s disinformation units have had a lasting impact with some still circulating till today and improved upon. Many of these strategies—such as controlled leaks; fake experts; social media manipulation—have been adapted for the modern digital era.
Russia’s FSB and GRU (the successors of the KGB) continue to employ similar tactics today, particularly in conflicts like Ukraine and in influencing Western political discourse. It suffices to recall that every time an election is held in the West, concerns are raised about potential meddling by Moscow. It is worth noting that the West isn’t immune from such accusations as well.
Western governments, particularly the United States and the United Kingdom, also had their own propaganda and psychological warfare units however, they classified their efforts as counter-disinformation rather than deliberate deception. They were primarily designed to counter Soviet influence; promote democratic values and conduct covert operations against adversaries.
While the Soviet Union institutionalized disinformation, Western intelligence agencies engaged in similar covert influence operations—often under the guise of countering communism; however, the key distinction was that Western efforts were primarily focused on shaping foreign public opinion rather than controlling domestic narratives.
Disinformation in the Digital Age
It should come as no surprise that the blurring of truth continues today; however, unlike in the past—where misinformation was primarily state-driven—modern disinformation is relentless, decentralized, and amplified by social media.
People are now bombarded with misinformation from an early age, making it increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction.
A single AI-manipulated video, strategically tagged and widely shared, can easily go viral and ignite a dangerous incident or, at the very least, sow doubt that may prove impossible to eliminate.
The proliferation of AI tools has enabled the creation of deepfake videos and AI-generated propaganda. Fake hostage testimonies altered videos of political leaders, and fabricated scenes of destruction have all contributed to confusion and mistrust.
The digital battlefield has become as consequential as the physical one and truth is still its first casualty.
Photo Caption: Bashar al-Assad had dismissed this photo as ‘fake’ during a televised interview but medical sources in Aleppo confirmed to ABC News that they had in fact treated Omran following an airstrike.
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