X disinformation network: UN survey finds 85% worried as fake war footage spreads

The survey came out as the United Nations announced a governance blueprint for platforms and regulators. Across all 16 countries, 68% of respondents named social media as the place where fake news spreads most widely, ahead of messaging apps at 38%.

Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay told reporters that platforms accelerate and amplify false information and hate speech, and that these pose "major risks to social cohesion, peace and stability." Regulation, she said, is urgently needed to protect access to information while protecting freedom of expression.

Trust does not follow reach. Social media was the main news source in almost every country surveyed: 56% of internet users got news mainly from platforms, against 44% for television and 29% for media sites. Yet only 50% trusted what they found there, compared with 66% for television and 57% for media websites and apps. The Ipsos polling covered countries including Austria, Croatia, the US, Algeria, Mexico, Ghana and India, all due to hold national elections with a combined 2.5 billion voters.

Fake generals, fake memos, real riots

The mechanics of that spread were on display in the fortnight after Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October. The Guardian reported that a clip viewed about 2m times on X, formerly Twitter, showed a boy in a pool of blood surrounded by men in gear resembling IDF uniforms. It was in fact behind-the-scenes footage from a Palestinian short film, Empty Place.

Another video, also viewed roughly 2m times on X, claimed to show Israeli generals captured by Hamas. Azerbaijan's state security service had published it on its YouTube channel, and it showed arrested former leaders of the Nagorno-Karabakh government. A doctored memo appearing to show Joe Biden giving $8bn to Israel drew 400,000 views. The White House confirmed to NBC it was fake; the original July memo had announced $400m in aid to Ukraine.

"Social media platform companies like Meta and X have clear responsibilities under international human rights standards," said Pat de Brún, deputy director at Amnesty Tech, according to the Guardian.

Russia appeared to be capitalising on the conflict. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, tweeted on the Monday that weapons handed to Ukraine were now being used against Israel. An X account linked to the Wagner mercenary group posted a video apparently showing Hamas thanking Ukraine for weapons; it drew more than 300,000 views and far-right US accounts amplified it. The Pentagon's inspector general had reported in February there was no evidence to date of weapons and aid to Ukraine being diverted to third parties.

The European Commission issued a letter to X owner Elon Musk on the Tuesday warning him over alleged disinformation about the Hamas attack, including fake news and "repurposed old images." Unesco's plan rests on seven principles drawn from more than 10,000 contributions across 134 countries over 18 months. It calls for independent public regulators and for platforms to moderate content at scale in all languages.

The stakes are not abstract. CNBC reported that after three girls were killed in Southport in July 2024, a false name for the attacker, "Ali al-Shakati," had more than 30,000 mentions on X by 3pm the following day, before police said the suspect was born in Britain. Days of riots followed, with attacks on mosques, immigration centres and hotels housing asylum seekers.