Latest news with #ClemsonUniversity
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
AI-generated videos fuel falsehoods about Iran-Israel conflict
In recent days, videos generated by artificial intelligence have surfaced online purporting to show dramatic scenes from the Iran-Israel conflict, including an AI-generated woman reporting from a burning prison in Tehran and fake footage of high-rise buildings reduced to rubble in Tel Aviv. Other fabricated visuals depict a downed Israeli military aircraft. These clips, some which have racked up millions of views on platforms including X and TikTok, are the latest in a growing pattern of AI-generated videos that spread during major events. Researchers at Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub told CBS News that some of the content is being amplified on X by a coordinated network of accounts promoting Iranian opposition messaging — with the goal of undermining confidence in the Iranian government. Fabricated videos On Monday, Israel carried out strikes on several sites in Iran, including the notorious Evin Prison. Within minutes of the attack, a video began circulating on X and other social media platforms showing an explosion at the entrance. The video is grainy, black-and-white and appears to be security camera footage. But several visual anomalies indicate the footage may have been created using artificial intelligence, experts say, including an incorrect sign above the door and inconsistencies with the explosion. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-founder of AI detection startup GetReal Labs, told CBS News he believes the video may have been generated by an AI image-to-video tool. Farid said recent advancements in technology have helped lead to more realistic-looking videos with easier ways to create and share them quickly. "A year ago it was [that] you could make a single image that was pretty photo realistic," Farid said. "Now it's full blown video with explosions, with what looks like handheld mobile device imaging." The video had been posted on X within minutes of the June 23 Israeli attack on the facility by an account that "bears marks of being inauthentic," according to Media Forensics Hub researchers. Iranian and Israeli officials have not commented on the authenticity of the video. Darren Linvill, co-director of the Media Forensics Hub, told CBS News another video, which depicted an AI-generated reporter outside the prison, is the "perfect example" of a coordinated network using AI to circulate false information to wider audiences. "It isn't doing anything that one couldn't do with previous technology, it's just doing it all cheaper, faster, and at greater scale," Linvill said. It's not clear who is behind the videos, Linvill said. Social media platforms' responses When asked about the AI-generated Iran-Israel videos on their platform, a TikTok spokesperson told CBS News the platform does not allow harmful misinformation or AI-generated content of fakes authoritative sources or crisis events, and has removed some of these videos. A spokesperson for X referred CBS News to their Community Notes feature, and said some of the AI-generated video posts have had Community Notes added to help combat the false information. As for how to avoid falling prey to videos created with AI, Farid said, "Stop getting your news from social media, particularly on breaking events like this." Hegseth slams Iran strikes initial assessment that contradicts Trump's take Young Cuban girl asks Trump to lift travel ban stopping her from joining mom in U.S. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez set for star-studded wedding in Venice
CBS News
20 hours ago
- CBS News
AI-generated videos are fueling falsehoods about Iran-Israel conflict, researchers say
In recent days, videos generated by artificial intelligence have surfaced online purporting to show dramatic scenes from the Iran-Israel conflict, including an AI-generated woman reporting from a burning prison in Tehran and fake footage of high-rise buildings reduced to rubble in Tel Aviv. Other fabricated visuals depict a downed Israeli military aircraft. These clips, some which have racked up millions of views on platforms including X and TikTok, are the latest in a growing pattern of AI-generated videos that spread during major events. Screenshots taken by CBS News. CBS News Researchers at Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub told CBS News that some of the content is being amplified on X by a coordinated network of accounts promoting Iranian opposition messaging — with the goal of undermining confidence in the Iranian government. Fabricated videos On Monday, Israel carried out strikes on several sites in Iran, including the notorious Evin Prison. Within minutes of the attack, a video began circulating on X and other social media platforms showing an explosion at the entrance. The video is grainy, black-and-white and appears to be security camera footage. But several visual anomalies indicate the footage may have been created using artificial intelligence, experts say, including an incorrect sign above the door and inconsistencies with the explosion. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-founder of AI detection startup GetReal Labs, told CBS News he believes the video may have been generated by an AI image-to-video tool. Farid said recent advancements in technology have helped lead to more realistic-looking videos with easier ways to create and share them quickly. "A year ago it was [that] you could make a single image that was pretty photo realistic," Farid said. "Now it's full blown video with explosions, with what looks like handheld mobile device imaging." The video had been posted on X within minutes of the June 23 Israeli attack on the facility by an account that "bears marks of being inauthentic," according to Media Forensics Hub researchers. Iranian and Israeli officials have not commented on the authenticity of the video. Darren Linvill, co-director of the Media Forensics Hub, told CBS News another video, which depicted an AI-generated reporter outside the prison, is the "perfect example" of a coordinated network using AI to circulate false information to wider audiences. "It isn't doing anything that one couldn't do with previous technology, it's just doing it all cheaper, faster, and at greater scale," Linvill said. It's not clear who is behind the videos, Linvill said. Social media platforms' responses When asked about the AI-generated Iran-Israel videos on their platform, a TikTok spokesperson told CBS News the platform does not allow harmful misinformation or AI-generated content of fakes authoritative sources or crisis events, and has removed some of these videos. A spokesperson for X referred CBS News to their Community Notes feature, and said some of the AI-generated video posts have had Community Notes added to help combat the false information. As for how to avoid falling prey to videos created with AI, Farid said, "Stop getting your news from social media, particularly on breaking events like this."
Time of India
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
How Cade Klubnik turned into Dabo Swinney's Heisman-calibre leader
Image Source: ABC Columbia The appearance of Cade Klubnik and his incredible transition as a quarterback with championship quality has made the Clemson Tigers a realistic national championship team going into the 2025 college football season. The development of the junior signal-caller, coupled with what most people believe to be the most imposing defensive front in the country, provides head coach Dabo Swinney with the building blocks he has not had in a long time. Cade Klubnik's quarterback mastery elevates the Clemson Tigers' championship aspirations Cade Klubnik has developed to the point where he is the biggest asset of Clemson University at the offensive position, where the team previously has been an unknown quantity. His breakout third season saw him set the third-largest single-season completion total in program history, and his 36 passing touchdowns are second all-time among Clemson Tigers quarterbacks. The moment that would define the Birmingham, Alabama native came in the College Football Playoff first round against the University of Texas when he shredded the Texas defence to the tune of 336 yards and three touchdowns, the most productive offensive performance Texas had surrendered all season. Cade Klubnik is following the same path that the championship quarterback development of Clemson had during the golden age under Swinney. His percentage of completion and accuracy have made him contend with the preseason Heisman Trophy, the first time a quarterback in the Tigers dons one since Trevor Lawrence. The backup cast features backup Christopher Vizzina, who has performed well in the spring practices, and the upcoming recruit, Chris Denson, who is a three-star prospect and has great upside. Peter Woods and T.J. Parker anchor nation's most dominant defensive line In 2025, the Clemson Tigers' defensive line is the most terrifying in college football history, headed by the outstanding duo of Peter Woods and T.J. Parker. Woods, the 300-pounder defensive tackle who lost 20 pounds during spring training, going from 320 pounds, had three sacks and one forced fumble in limited action in 2024. Size, speed, and technique make him potentially the first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, according to the NFL scouts. His record-breaking season last year made T.J. Parker the best pass rusher in college football, as he led Clemson University in sacks (11) and forced fumbles (6), tying the school record. The defensive end and his relentless pursuit and strip-sack talent have been compared to former Tigers great Clelin Ferrell. On the side of this elite pair is Will Heldt, a transfer student at Purdue University who is old enough to be an experienced player, and DeMonte Capehart, who comes in with his sixth season to offer leadership and depth. Their defensive line has been touted as the next big unit in the vein of Clemson Power Rangers that took the country by storm between 2016 and 2018 with Clelin Ferrell, Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, and Austin Bryant. That team anchored three College Football Playoff appearances and two national championships and set the blueprint of how to play defense line on your way to a championship. Also Read: College Football Playoff expansion impacts mid-major programs' championship hopes Clemson Tigers fans can follow the team's 2025 campaign beginning with their season opener, with games broadcast on ESPN and ACC Network throughout the fall. The combination of Klubnik's quarterback excellence and the defensive line's dominant potential positions Dabo Swinney's program for their first national championship appearance since 2020, when elite play at these positions traditionally translates to postseason success.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia is amplifying conspiracy theories about the L.A. protests
Protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles have triggered a flood of falsehoods and conspiracy theories online, and Russia has sought to exploit and amplify them, experts say. Russian media and pro-Russian voices have embraced right-wing conspiracy theories about the protests, including one that alleged the Mexican government was encouraging the demonstrations against President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Mexico has strongly rejected the accusation — which was repeated by Trump's chief of homeland security — as utterly false. The episode illustrates how foreign adversaries are taking advantage of genuine divisions among Americans, a tried-and-true strategy in information warfare, analysts say. Right-wing American voices online are pushing the idea that the protests in Los Angeles are not what they appear and that a secret, leftist cabal tied to Democratic politicians and the billionaire philanthropist George Soros is orchestrating unrest, experts said. 'We are following a playbook that we've followed many times before. We're seeing a lot of the same tropes, even a lot of the same exact conspiracy theories that we've seen circulate around previous protests,' said Darren Linvill, a professor at Clemson University who studies social media disinformation. There were echoes of how falsehoods spread during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, he said. 'People are, as they tend to do on social media, believing the messages that they're inclined to believe,' Linvill said. 'And influencers are taking advantage of that, oftentimes with false or sort of purposefully misleading content.' Right-wing users have posted baseless assertions that the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has ties to the CIA and is orchestrating protests to oust President Donald Trump. 'Bass is a political warlord. She's utilizing her expertise to encourage these riots—to try to topple Trump & you,' wrote conservative podcast host Liz Wheeler on a post on X. Moustafa Ayad of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an international nonprofit that focuses on 'safeguarding democracy,' said there were parallels to how social media users have reacted to previous protests or to hurricanes that struck the Southeast last year. 'I liken it to the aftermath of Milton and Helene last year,' Ayad said. 'We have a crisis or a conflict point that is occurring, and there are numerous narratives that are being spread online that the government is somehow involved in the protests, paying protesters, or this is a deep-state plot against the United States by the CIA and other government actors,' Ayad said. From the political left, narratives online have focused on how the federal government and the military were allegedly preparing to use lethal force, while right-leaning voices warned of plots to oust Trump and cause chaos in American cities, according to Ayad. 'It's a bit like being on a seesaw, just gyrating between those two things,' he said. 'Sadly, there's this giant reinforcing loop that just builds further steam as the protests continue day to day.' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday repeated baseless assertions online that the Mexican government was encouraging violent protests. Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, quickly responded, rejecting the accusation as 'absolutely false' but saying she was confident that the 'misunderstanding will be cleared up.' The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Conservative and pro-Russian social media accounts cited an outdated video of the Mexican president as the basis for their claims she was fomenting protests in Los Angeles, according to NewsGuard, a fact-checking website. The video was taken from a press conference on May 24, nearly two weeks before the start of the L.A. protests. The Mexican president's remarks were taken out of context. Sheinbaum was referring to a proposed tax by the Trump administration on any income earned by Mexican immigrants that is sent on to their families in Mexico. She criticized the proposal and said at the time: 'If necessary, we'll mobilize' against the tax. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson then posted the May 24 clip of Sheinbaum after protests began last week in Los Angeles and wrote that she was calling for protests in the United States. The post has received 6.7 million views. At a news conference on Monday, Sheinbaum made clear her government opposes any violence associated with protests. 'We do not agree with violent actions as a form of protest.' Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank's Alliance for Securing Democracy, said Russia's information operations online were embracing pro-Trump portrayals of the protests as a leftist violent assault. 'Russia is in effect cheering on Trump's response and suggesting that it's warranted,' Schafer said. 'They have certainly intimated that these protests are being staged or funded by the radical left.' Russian news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted a Russian blogger in L.A. saying the protesters were not migrants but 'militants' who arrived on buses. Russian nationalist commentator Alexander Dugin wrote on X that the protests were an insurrection, a 'nationwide conspiracy of liberals against not only Trump but against American people in general.' Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer dubbed the 'Merchant of Death' by U.S. and British authorities who was released in a prisoner exchange in 2022 after spending 11 years behind bars in the United States, also weighed in on the protests. Russian media outlet Pravda quoted Bout comparing the demonstrations to the 2014 Maidan protests in Ukraine against what was then a pro-Moscow government, with Bout claiming the L.A. protests were highly organized. Pravda also quoted Sergei Markov, a former adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the United States was in the middle of a 'civil war' pitting coastal states against interior states. Sputnik reposted a viral image of a pallet of bricks, asking why it was near the protest sites. But fact-checkers at Lead Stories geolocated the photo to a construction site about 3,000 miles away, in New Jersey. China, however, was taking a different tack. Instead of leaning into pro-Trump narratives and repeating right-wing conspiracy theories, Beijing portrayed America as a country in turmoil. Chinese media and pro-China voices argued the American government's response to protests in Los Angeles was 'heavy-handed and therefore hypocritical' in light of Washington's criticisms of other countries' treatment of dissent, according to Schafer. An affiliate of China's global television network reminded viewers that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had praised protests in Hong Kong in 2019 as a 'beautiful sight' but asked if the American government viewed the L.A. protests in the same way. A pro-Beijing commentator, Li Jingjing, denounced what she called U.S. interference in other countries' affairs even as it denounced protesters on its soil. 'US hypocrisy at its best,' she wrote in a post. The pervasive online image of the supposed pallet of bricks frequently shows up when there are street protests, according to the Social Media Lab, a research team at Toronto Metropolitan University. 'It's catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters,' the lab said in a social media post. 'The fact that these types of fake images are used isn't a coincidence. It's part of a pernicious & persistent narrative that protests against government policies are somehow inauthentic,' it added. The approach is 'meant to make these movements seem less legitimate or less worthy of public support.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Russia is amplifying conspiracy theories about the L.A. protests
Protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles have triggered a flood of falsehoods and conspiracy theories online, and Russia has sought to exploit and amplify them, experts say. Russian media and pro-Russian voices have embraced right-wing conspiracy theories about the protests, including one that alleged the Mexican government was encouraging the demonstrations against President Donald Trump's immigration policies. Mexico has strongly rejected the accusation — which was repeated by Trump's chief of homeland security — as utterly false. The episode illustrates how foreign adversaries are taking advantage of genuine divisions among Americans, a tried-and-true strategy in information warfare, analysts say. Right-wing American voices online are pushing the idea that the protests in Los Angeles are not what they appear and that a secret, leftist cabal tied to Democratic politicians and the billionaire philanthropist George Soros is orchestrating unrest, experts said. 'We are following a playbook that we've followed many times before. We're seeing a lot of the same tropes, even a lot of the same exact conspiracy theories that we've seen circulate around previous protests,' said Darren Linvill, a professor at Clemson University who studies social media disinformation. There were echoes of how falsehoods spread during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, he said. 'People are, as they tend to do on social media, believing the messages that they're inclined to believe,' Linvill said. 'And influencers are taking advantage of that, oftentimes with false or sort of purposefully misleading content.' Right-wing users have posted baseless assertions that the Democratic mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has ties to the CIA and is orchestrating protests to oust President Donald Trump. 'Bass is a political warlord. She's utilizing her expertise to encourage these riots—to try to topple Trump & you,' wrote conservative podcast host Liz Wheeler on a post on X. Moustafa Ayad of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an international nonprofit that focuses on 'safeguarding democracy,' said there were parallels to how social media users have reacted to previous protests or to hurricanes that struck the Southeast last year. 'I liken it to the aftermath of Milton and Helene last year,' Ayad said. 'We have a crisis or a conflict point that is occurring, and there are numerous narratives that are being spread online that the government is somehow involved in the protests, paying protesters, or this is a deep-state plot against the United States by the CIA and other government actors,' Ayad said. From the political left, narratives online have focused on how the federal government and the military were allegedly preparing to use lethal force, while right-leaning voices warned of plots to oust Trump and cause chaos in American cities, according to Ayad. 'It's a bit like being on a seesaw, just gyrating between those two things,' he said. 'Sadly, there's this giant reinforcing loop that just builds further steam as the protests continue day to day.' Baseless claims of Mexico fomenting violence Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday repeated baseless assertions online that the Mexican government was encouraging violent protests. Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, quickly responded, rejecting the accusation as 'absolutely false' but saying she was confident that the 'misunderstanding will be cleared up.' The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Conservative and pro-Russian social media accounts cited an outdated video of the Mexican president as the basis for their claims she was fomenting protests in Los Angeles, according to NewsGuard, a fact-checking website. The video was taken from a press conference on May 24, nearly two weeks before the start of the L.A. protests. The Mexican president's remarks were taken out of context. Sheinbaum was referring to a proposed tax by the Trump administration on any income earned by Mexican immigrants that is sent on to their families in Mexico. She criticized the proposal and said at the time: 'If necessary, we'll mobilize' against the tax. Conservative commentator Benny Johnson then posted the May 24 clip of Sheinbaum after protests began last week in Los Angeles and wrote that she was calling for protests in the United States. The post has received 6.7 million views. At a news conference on Monday, Sheinbaum made clear her government opposes any violence associated with protests. 'We do not agree with violent actions as a form of protest.' An opportunity for Russia Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank's Alliance for Securing Democracy, said Russia's information operations online were embracing pro-Trump portrayals of the protests as a leftist violent assault. 'Russia is in effect cheering on Trump's response and suggesting that it's warranted,' Schafer said. 'They have certainly intimated that these protests are being staged or funded by the radical left.' Russian news outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda quoted a Russian blogger in L.A. saying the protesters were not migrants but 'militants' who arrived on buses. Russian nationalist commentator Alexander Dugin wrote on X that the protests were an insurrection, a 'nationwide conspiracy of liberals against not only Trump but against American people in general.' Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer dubbed the 'Merchant of Death' by U.S. and British authorities who was released in a prisoner exchange in 2022 after spending 11 years behind bars in the United States, also weighed in on the protests. Russian media outlet Pravda quoted Bout comparing the demonstrations to the 2014 Maidan protests in Ukraine against what was then a pro-Moscow government, with Bout claiming the L.A. protests were highly organized. Pravda also quoted Sergei Markov, a former adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the United States was in the middle of a 'civil war' pitting coastal states against interior states. Sputnik reposted a viral image of a pallet of bricks, asking why it was near the protest sites. But fact-checkers at Lead Stories geolocated the photo to a construction site about 3,000 miles away, in New Jersey. Beijing accuses Washington of hypocrisy China, however, was taking a different tack. Instead of leaning into pro-Trump narratives and repeating right-wing conspiracy theories, Beijing portrayed America as a country in turmoil. Chinese media and pro-China voices argued the American government's response to protests in Los Angeles was 'heavy-handed and therefore hypocritical' in light of Washington's criticisms of other countries' treatment of dissent, according to Schafer. An affiliate of China's global television network reminded viewers that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had praised protests in Hong Kong in 2019 as a 'beautiful sight' but asked if the American government viewed the L.A. protests in the same way. A pro-Beijing commentator, Li Jingjing, denounced what she called U.S. interference in other countries' affairs even as it denounced protesters on its soil. 'US hypocrisy at its best,' she wrote in a post. The pervasive online image of the supposed pallet of bricks frequently shows up when there are street protests, according to the Social Media Lab, a research team at Toronto Metropolitan University. 'It's catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters,' the lab said in a social media post. 'The fact that these types of fake images are used isn't a coincidence. It's part of a pernicious & persistent narrative that protests against government policies are somehow inauthentic,' it added. The approach is 'meant to make these movements seem less legitimate or less worthy of public support.'
