From Opposite Sides of War, a Hunt for Elusive Facts

Since the initial [Oct. 7] attack, disinformation watchdogs in the region have been overwhelmed by unfounded narratives, manipulated media and conspiracy theories. The content has spread in enormous volumes at great speed: video game clips and old news reports masquerading as current footage, attempts to disavow authentic photos as artificially generated, inaccurate translations and false accusations distributed in multiple languages.

In the fog of war, rumors and lies are especially dangerous, capable of taking on the veneer of fact and affecting decisions. Fact checkers and misinformation analysts are meant to be part of the defense, offering a cleareyed examination of the available evidence.

The work, however, is hard even for seasoned professionals, who faced pushback while fighting false and misleading narratives across multiple elections and a pandemic. In the Mideast, where fact-checking websites and disinformation research are relatively nascent and often poorly funded, the challenges have been compounded.

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