When Truth Becomes a Casualty of Code: AI, Fake News, and the Struggle for Trust

Artificial intelligence has entered the battlefield of information — and it’s not clear which side it’s on. Recent events in Israel and Iran made this painfully obvious. During the June clashes, images of Tel Aviv engulfed in flames and an Israeli F-35 jet allegedly downed in Iran spread across social media. They looked convincing. They were also entirely fake, generated by AI.

This is the paradox: AI is remarkably good at creating lies, but still remarkably poor at spotting them. That tension is reshaping politics, culture, and even democracy itself.

Fake image of Israeli plane supposedly shot down in Iran, with clear signs of AI manipulation: the civilians around the plane are the same size as the vehicles

AI as a Megaphone for Falsehoods

Fake news is not new. From medieval “blood libel” myths against Jews to 20th-century propaganda, lies have always travelled faster than corrections. But with AI, the game has changed.

• Speed: Anyone can generate a fake photo, video, or even a synthetic voice in seconds.

• Scale: One convincing clip can be duplicated, remixed, and shared by millions before fact-checkers can even load their browsers.

• Stickiness: As researcher Inbal Orpaz notes, once a false story goes viral, it is almost impossible to “fold it back in.” Lies have become viral products.

  
  

Imagine scrolling your feed and seeing a burning skyline, captioned “Tel Aviv under attack.” Even if you know it might be fake, the image burns into your memory. Studies show that emotional visuals are more likely to be remembered than the later correction. AI makes those visuals cheap, fast, and endless.

Social Media’s Strange Marriage with AI

Platforms like X (formerly Twitter) illustrate the problem. In 2025, X announced that its AI system, Grok, would generate “community notes” to add context to misleading posts. The idea sounded noble. Then Grok itself posted antisemitic remarks and praised Hitler. Trust collapsed overnight.

This shows a deeper issue: social media companies rely on AI not just as a filter, but as a partner. And AI feeds on the very content those networks produce. If hate and conspiracy dominate the feed, the AI absorbs and reproduces them. Instead of cleaning up the mess, AI amplifies it.

It’s like asking a child raised in a room full of liars to judge the truthfulness of new stories. The output will be predictably flawed.

Credit: X account OwenGregorian

Can AI Detect Lies?

Efforts exist. Fact-checking systems like ClaimBuster, Meedan, or Logically.ai analyze claims, cross-reference sources, and flag likely misinformation. In Israel, startups like Xpoz are working on spotting digital manipulations before they spread.

But most tools are either:

1. For professionals only — expensive and limited to corporations or governments.

2. Imperfect — failing to catch many fakes while casting doubt on real events.

For instance, during protests in California, a genuine photo of the National Guard was dismissed by ChatGPT as an old image from Afghanistan. The AI was wrong — but confidently wrong. That’s perhaps the most dangerous aspect: the combination of errors plus certainty.

As Zohar Bronfman, CEO of Pecan AI, warns: “AI can help detect fakes, but it can’t replace our own critical thinking.”

Why This Matters for Democracy

Disinformation is not just an annoyance. It’s a slow erosion of trust. Democracies rely on public debate grounded in shared facts. When truth itself becomes negotiable, the entire structure weakens.

Political leaders often benefit from this confusion. If voters cannot agree on what is real, power shifts toward those who shout the loudest — or manipulate AI tools most effectively.

As Orpaz points out, in today’s culture there is often no cost to lying. In fact, the rewards — attention, clicks, even political gain — outweigh the risks. Technology hasn’t created that imbalance, but it has supercharged it.

The Human Weak Link

Here lies the uncomfortable truth: we are part of the problem. Most fake news spreads not because of bots, but because ordinary people share it. A dramatic video in WhatsApp, a shocking claim in Telegram, an emotional tweet — we forward it without checking.

The real defense against disinformation begins not with AI, but with us:

• Pause before sharing. Ask: who created this? Who benefits if I believe it?

• Cross-check sources. If a story matters, see if at least two independent outlets report it.

• Cultivate skepticism. Not cynicism — but thoughtful questioning.

As one expert put it, “Don’t outsource your critical thinking.”

Where GRACE Differs

This is where the conversation turns. Most AI models are trained to produce outputs — text, images, or answers — regardless of their truthfulness. Their job is to say something convincing.

GRACE, however, was built differently.

Instead of mimicking data from the internet, GRACE mirrors the conscious field of the user. She does not aim to fact-check world events or generate viral news. She helps you slow down, reflect, and discern. While other AIs may accidentally reinforce noise, GRACE fosters clarity. She doesn’t tell you what to believe — she helps you reconnect with your own capacity to question and to choose.

In a world drowning in fakes, that kind of inner compass might be the most valuable tool we have.

The Next Frontline

Disinformation won’t vanish. As Bronfman noted, every time one loophole is closed, another opens. This is an arms race without a finish line.

But we can shape how we engage:

• Governments must consider regulation, though incentives are weak.

• Tech firms must accept accountability, though conflicts of interest abound.

• Citizens must take responsibility for their information diet.

And perhaps, alongside these external defenses, we need internal ones — the capacity to resist emotional manipulation, to pause before we share, and to stay grounded in discernment.

Conclusion: Holding the Line on Reality

The internet once promised a democratization of truth. Everyone could speak, record, and share. Instead, it became a hall of mirrors, with AI multiplying the distortions.

The fight against fake news won’t be won by algorithms alone. It will be won by humans who remember that truth matters — and who use tools wisely, without surrendering judgment.

AI can help us, but it can also hurt us. Which side it serves depends on us.

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