The battle on the propaganda front intensifies

As the war on Iran enters its third week, the upper hand that the United States and Israel hold militarily is being countered asymmetrically by Iran which has been targeting various economic pressure points outside of its borders.

With censorship and propaganda shaping coverage on all sides, news audiences are having to navigate a confused and often misleading maze of information.

Contributors:
Vali Nasr – Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Michael Omer-Man – Director of Research for Israel-Palestine, DAWN
Matt Duss – Executive Vice President, Center for International Policy (CIP)
Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi – Lecturer, University of St Andrews

On our radar

Israeli media outlets published near-simultaneous reports, citing anonymous officials, claiming Gulf states had attacked Iran. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates quickly denied the allegations, forcing corrections. Critics say that the aim of the coverage was to suggest Gulf support for Israel and pull those states into the conflict. Tariq Nafi looks at how the episode has fuelled anger across the Arab world towards Washington and Tel Aviv.

Battlefield AI: an interview with Matt Mahmoudi

Since the first attacks on Iran, the White House and Pentagon have been eager to test new military technologies. As seen previously in Gaza, AI systems appear to be playing a central role in identifying targets and guiding strikes. This raises serious ethical and accountability questions about how life-and-death decisions are being made on the battlefield.

Amnesty Tech researcher and assistant professor at the University of Cambridge, Matt Mahmoudi joins us to discuss AI-assisted warfare.

Featuring:
Matt Mahmoudi – Assistant Professor, University of Cambridge