X exposes Pakistan-based operator running dozens of accounts sharing AI-generated Iran war videos

Islamabad — Social media platform X said it has identified a Pakistan-based operator managing 31 accounts that were used to distribute AI-generated videos related to the ongoing conflict involving Iran.

Nikita Bier, head of product at X, said the accounts had been compromised and rebranded on February 27 with usernames such as “Iran War Monitor” and similar variations, which were then used to post fabricated war-related content.

“Last night, we found a guy in Pakistan that was managing 31 accounts posting AI war videos. All were hacked and the usernames were changed on Feb 27 to ‘Iran War Monitor’ or some derivative. We are getting much faster at detecting this — and also eliminating the incentive to do this,” Bier wrote in a post on X.

According to Bier, some of the accounts also impersonated Iran-related monitoring accounts, while others posed as profiles labeled “IDF Girl,” which he said were also operated from Pakistan.

Replying to another user on the platform, Bier said the activity appeared largely driven by attempts to exploit the platform’s monetization system rather than promote a specific political agenda.

“In 99 per cent of cases, it’s just people looking to game monetization. But to answer your question, yes we did a sweep of ‘IDF Girl’ accounts that were run out of Pakistan recently. The only thing they care about is what gets impressions — not the political leaning,” he said.

Following the discovery, X announced stricter rules governing AI-generated war content on the platform. Bier said users who post AI-generated videos depicting armed conflicts without clearly disclosing that the material was created using artificial intelligence will face a suspension from the platform’s Creator Revenue Sharing program for 90 days.

“Today we are revising our Creator Revenue Sharing policies to maintain authenticity of content on Timeline and prevent manipulation of the programme. During times of war, it is critical that people have access to authentic information on the ground. With today’s AI technologies, it is trivial to create content that can mislead people,” Bier wrote.

“Starting now, users who post AI-generated videos of an armed conflict — without adding a disclosure that it was made with AI — will be suspended from Creator Revenue Sharing for 90 days. Subsequent violations will result in a permanent suspension from the program. This will be flagged to us by any post with a Community Note or if the content contains meta data (or other signals) from generative AI tools. We will continue to refine our policies and product to ensure X can be trusted during these critical moments,” he added.

The policy change comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia following joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran aimed at degrading Tehran’s missile capabilities and broader military infrastructure.

According to reports, the initial strikes killed several senior figures in Iran’s leadership, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting a large-scale retaliatory response from Iran involving drone and missile attacks targeting U.S. assets, regional capitals and allied forces across West Asia. (Source: IANS)