Artificial intelligence, fake news, and the narrative in the Middle East

Artificial intelligence is the new oil

According to Mor Shapira, the Middle East is no longer a technologically backward region. The Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, understand that global competition is shifting from control over energy sources like oil and gas to control over information. They see artificial intelligence as the “modern oil” and understand that their future depends on their ability to lead in this field. These countries are investing huge sums, over 100 billion dollars in the last two years, in building infrastructure, dedicated AI universities (the UAE even has a minister for artificial intelligence), and attracting talent from all over the world.

According to Shapira, the Gulf states are aware that they lack the skilled workforce and technological ecosystem that exists in Israel. They see Israel, the “start-up nation,” as a natural partner and want to harness the “Jewish brain” to advance their goals. However, she warns that Israel itself is beginning to lag behind the Gulf states in long-term strategic thinking and investment in the field.

The narrative is stronger than the facts

Shapira argues that to understand the Middle East, one must grasp that the narrative, the story, and the image are the most powerful weapons, sometimes more so than bullets. According to her, in the Arab world, facts and objective truth are less relevant. What matters is who disseminates the information first, and whether the information serves the existing narrative. Therefore, Israeli attempts to debunk fake news through fact-checking are doomed to fail. The Arab consumer is not looking for factual truth, but for what aligns with their worldview, for example the Palestinian victimhood narrative. Even if presented with conclusive proof that a particular video is fake, they will choose to believe it as long as it serves their narrative. Shapira compares this to trying to convince a believer that there is no God using evidence.

Artificial intelligence in the service of regimes

Authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, Shapira explains, fear loss of control and stability. The fear of “fitna,” meaning civil war or chaos, is an existential fear, so they do everything in their power to prevent the free flow of information that could undermine their rule. They take measures like blocking the internet during crises, as Iran has done, to prevent the spread of information that contradicts the state-run media. The use of fake news and artificial intelligence becomes a legitimate tool for them to maintain governmental legitimacy, unite the people around the leadership, and divert attention from internal problems.

Islamic law and artificial intelligence

The emergence of artificial intelligence is sparking an Islamic legal debate in the Muslim world. Clerics at institutions like Al-Azhar University in Egypt are debating whether AI is a “bid’ah,” a forbidden innovation, or a tool that can be used. Some religious jurists approve the use of chatbots to get legal rulings, similar to the past approval of coffee after it was understood to help believers stay awake for night prayers. On the other hand, there are concerns, for example about receiving “cold” and irresponsible legal answers from a robot that does not understand the human context. In conservative Sunni Islam, there is strong opposition to creating images using AI, especially of holy figures like the Prophet Muhammad, because this is considered forbidden anthropomorphism.

The ends justify the means

According to Shapira, organizations like Hezbollah and regimes like Iran’s see artificial intelligence and fake news as legitimate tools in their struggle. As long as the means serves the narrative and sanctifies the goal, its use is permitted. She gives the example of a Hezbollah ruling that permits drug trafficking as long as it harms the “enemy” and not Muslims. Similarly, spreading a fake video about “Zionist crimes” is considered legitimate because it serves the resistance narrative. Media outlets like Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar, Hezbollah’s mouthpieces, make extensive and unlimited use of fake news, while Saudi channels like Al Arabiya and Al Hadath are more careful, in line with the narrative they promote.

Voices of change

Alongside the propaganda, Shapira notes that there are growing voices in the Arab world, mainly among intellectuals from Lebanon and Iraq, who are calling for realism. They argue that Israel is an established fact and that insisting on the narrative of “the Zionist entity that will pass from the world” only harms the Arab world and prevents it from progressing. Countries like the United Arab Emirates are leading a conceptual change, for example by introducing Holocaust studies into the curriculum and establishing a museum on the subject. According to Shapira, these voices understand that it is better to learn to live alongside Israel and enjoy the fruits of peace and normalization, instead of continuing to live by the sword.