By Kenrick Cai
SAN FRANCISCO, March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday accused Iran of usingartificial intelligenceas a "disinformation weapon" to misrepresent its wartime successes and support.
"AI can be very dangerous, we have to be very careful with it," Trump said to reporters on Air Force One shortly after he made a post on his Truth Social platform where he accused Western media outlets without evidence of "close coordination" with Iran to spread AI-generated "fake news."
The comments come amid renewed tensions between the Federal Communications Commission and broadcasters after Trump took aim at media coverage of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Saturday threatened to pull licenses of broadcasters who did not "correct course" on their coverage.
Trump has frequently accused news media outlets of lying when they run stories that he sees as critical of him, and he has previously called for removing the licenses of broadcast outlets he views as unfair.
Between the social media post and his comments to journalists, Trump on Sunday cited three instances where he claimed Iran used AI to mislead the public.
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On Truth Social, he said that Iran had shown "kamikaze boats" that do not exist. He further stated that Iran used AI to falsely depict a successful attack on the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, adding publications that propagated the news should be charged with treason.
Reuters has verified images filmed from the Iraqi port of Basra, which showed explosive-laden Iranian boats appearing to attack two fuel tankers, killing at least one crew member. Iranian state media did claim that Iran's military struck the USS Abraham Lincoln, though the claim was not widely picked up by Western outlets.
Trump also claimed that images showing "250,000" Iranians at a rally to support new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei were "totally AI generated" and that the event "never took place."
Several pro-government demonstrations have occurred in Iran since the war began, but a brief search by Reuters did not find any Western reports that cite a figure of 250,000. Many media organizations, including Reuters, have run news photos showing crowds in Tehran after Khamenei was named leader.
Trump did not clarify the specific news reports from Iran he was referencing.
(Reporting by Kenrick Cai; Editing by Sergio Non and Kate Mayberry)