Fact check: 'Iranian' content farms reach millions

As fears of regional escalation grew after US strikes on Iran, US President Donald Trump claimed the US-Israel war with Iran was 'effectively over' on November 9 at a White House briefing. 'We're just keeping it the status quo.' Periods of heightened public interest, such as the conflict involving Iran, create fertile ground for so-called content farms. Following Trump's statement, posts on the Iran war surged online again. And a growing network of accounts claiming links to Iran's military has accumulated millions of views.

Content farming and the Iran war

DW Fact Check examined a number of these accounts and found recurring signs of content farm behavior. Experts who reviewed the accounts describe them as part of a broader ecosystem of pro-Iran content aggregators that connect across multiple social media platforms. Content farms are websites or social media accounts, or a network of either, producing large amounts of cheap content in a short time span. They may be driven by economic incentives, but they can also serve as vehicles for political influence campaigns.

The internet watchdog NewsGuard has found 165 false claims about the Iran war that collectively have been watched hundreds of millions of times. Only a few of them originated from Iranian state media. NewsGuard identified the majority as pushing a pro-Iran agenda, shifting toward AI-generated images, and increasingly claiming that accurate stories from authentic media are AI-generated and false.

An analysis by the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) identified pro-Iran networks of X accounts which revealed signs of coordination, cross-promotion and engagement tactics while spreading misleading and AI-generated war content. It found no links to state-affiliated actors.

A network reaching millions

Content farms use repetitive and formulaic posting formats, as they are cheaper and easier to produce. Their posts frequently start with the word 'BREAKING' and imitate the appearance of news updates on the conflict. One account, called 'Iran Military Media,' is linked to a Facebook account that Iranian state media have verified as authentic. It has built a substantial audience across multiple social media platforms, with over 290,000 followers on X, 597,000 on Facebook and 17,200 followers on Instagram.

It posts a handful of times a day, often sharing AI-generated or AI-enhanced videos and frequently adopting the 'BREAKING' format. Since late 2025, it has published more than 1,600 posts on X, generating over 150 million views and 3.6 million likes. Ayad examined 10 similar 'Iran Military'-themed accounts during the same period, and their combined reach is even greater. Together, they accounted for 12,588 posts, 353 million views and 6.6 million likes.

False narratives

A second account, 'Iranian Force,' has amassed more than 248,000 followers. It typically posts around 10 times a day, though on some days the volume exceeds 30 posts. Like 'Iran Military Media,' it frequently relies on 'BREAKING' alerts and AI-generated content. It also includes genuine footage, often framed through a pro-Iran lens. X lists the account as being based in Pakistan and its profile history shows six username changes.

Charlene Lin, an analyst for the internet watchdog NewsGuard, told DW it had flagged this account for multiple false narratives. According to Lin, it is also linked to another account that spreads the same false narratives in coordination. A third account, called the 'Iran Army,' posts a handful of times a day, including AI-generated videos. Its posts regularly reach tens and at times hundreds of thousands of views. One post claiming 'the war has officially started' received over 41 million views.

Iran's 'soft war'

This network is replicated on Facebook in numerous languages. According to Ayad, this strategy is part of what the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outlined as 'soft war.' While these accounts differ in reach and post slightly different content, they share many characteristics. The accounts repeatedly share cheaply produced images, at times coordinated between accounts, and make sensational and unverified claims portraying Iran as militarily powerful or politically influential.

Several accounts in this wider ecosystem have faced restrictions. Since March, a number of prominent 'Iran Military'-themed accounts have been suspended on X, including 'Iran Military Monitor,' which had close to 2 million followers before its removal. Earlier this year, Iranian state media issued a statement distancing itself from a range of 'Iran Military' accounts circulating on social media, stating that only one account was authentic.