The Long History of Fake News

From fables like the “Boy who cried wolf,” to the man who shouted “Help! A lion is attacking my sheep,” most of us from the east to the west grew up hearing the negative consequences of lying. We were also warned in scripture, such as Leviticus 19:11, “Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.” But in the end times—lies, falsehood and deception would rule the day. 

Today, the internet has become one of the weapons and tools for the father of lies—distorting the truth and twisting religion. Fake News has left the world confused, not knowing who or what to trust. I’m sure you have found yourself at times scrolling through TikTok, YouTube, Twitter or other social media platforms, wondering if an intriguing/shocking video or headline you had come across was true or not. Perhaps, you shared it with friends, or family or on your social platforms, only to leave you embarrassed when you found out hours or days later that it was fake news or doctored by AI. Even while you’re reading this now, you may be wondering if these are really my words or the work of ChatGPT or another AI app. Who can tell these days?

If we were to define Fake news, it quite simply refers to disinformation or misinformation presented as news, where falsehood is presented as truth by so-called “reliable sources.” The intention is simple… to deceive and mislead the readers to believe any agenda set forth by the creator of the lie. This could come in the form of fabricated stories, unethical articles or reports that have no basis in fact. 

“Click Bait” or misleading headlines meant to sensationalise or exaggerate the content of an article or video, is common practice in today’s culture. Content creators also manipulate content, alter genuine news articles and deliberately take words out of context to misrepresent the truth. Satire or parody has seen an upgrade, using the latest AI tools to create “memes” or alter images and videos to defame or shame individuals. People also exaggerate natural disasters using AI software. I’m sure many of you at some point have stumbled upon some AI-doctored “ufo sighting” or “celestial phenomena,” shocking at first—until your friend nudges you and says, “come on, that’s a fake video.”

Just as “time speeds up” in the time of the Mahdi, fake news also spreads rapidly—especially on social media. Spreading misinformation today can have significant consequences on public opinion; shaping political and religious discourse, undermining trust in legitimate news sources and ultimately the trust of everyone who posts content online. After all, in today’s world, everyone can be an “influencer,” “expert” or “journalist” on the internet. And what’s even more alarming, the lies and the AI software are getting more advanced by the day and it is increasingly more difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. 

Although the internet is the worst when it comes to “Fake News,” it did help expose another threat to truth—the “mainstream media.” Mainstream networks claim to “strive for accuracy and journalistic integrity,” and in the past, the general public would always take their word as a gold standard. But there have been many examples where outlets have been highly criticised, even condemned, for propagating misinformation or fake news. Whether it be human error, deliberate lying, the falsifying of information, misinterpretations, or sensationalism—the consequences are the same for the parties on the receiving end. 

Every network is looking for the next big breaking news story, looking for the next piece that will generate the most views, or turn the most eyeballs and give them an edge over their competitors. Networks such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, the New York Times and the Guardian, among so many others in this new gladiator arena, have all been called out on a number of these examples above, and have faced a great deal of backlash from the public.

A prime and devastating example is the New York Times’ coverage in the lead-up to the Iraq War, where it published a series of now-infamous stories claiming Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. These reports, which leaned heavily on dubious intelligence and unreliable sources, helped build the public case for a war that would later be deemed unjustified. Years later, the Times publicly admitted to major editorial failures and lack of proper scrutiny, but by then the damage—hundreds of thousands of lives lost and a region destabilized—had already been done. It remains one of the most consequential media failures of the 21st century.

“Teflon Don” and the New Era of Fake News

Politicians and Religious leaders are no strangers to “Fake News.” Prominent figures in the world, such as the (POTUS) Donald Trump have mitigated carefully through the barrage of bullets being fired at him to the point that he was dubbed by his support base as “Teflon Don,” meaning he is “bullet-proof” when fake news is fired at him. 

Capitalising on the growing frustration and disillusionment that many Americans have been feeling towards the fake news online and especially in the mainstream media, the general public have come to know the mainstream news networks as biased and untrustworthy. No one in our recent times has dismissed accusations publicly as “fake news” more than Donald Trump. And this has resonated with Trump’s supporters, spear-heading his rise to power. 

In Trump’s first campaign during the 2016 presidential elections, he often referred to mainstream media as “fake news,” a phrase that not only resonated with his followers, but with many around the world. Trump’s rise to prominence can be attributed, in part, to his ability to harness social media platforms to bypass traditional news outlets and fire back at any opposition, calling out many allegations/accusations as “fake news.” 

Political experts took note on how Donald Trump handled the onslaught of attacks and he campaigned a lot in the final days of the most recent elections, on well-known podcasts online—instead of mainstream outlets, which generated hundreds of millions of more viewers than traditional mainstream channels before. This catapulted Trump into a seemingly impossible second term, after being found guilty of a staggering 34 felony counts. 

The Trump support-base doesn’t care anymore about what the media has to say, and often rally around this notion that “the Don” is a “victim of fake news,” a narrative that has only bolstered his popularity among those who feel marginalised by “the establishment.” Now, even when a truthful testimony is given, it is dismissed as “fake news.”

In this age of deception, it doesn’t matter if you are political, religious, or just trying to stay up-to-date with what’s going on in the world, it’s important to highlight any hypocrisy coming from all sides who have been victims of “fake news.” Whenever a piece of news comes out against them, it’s fake news, but when they propagate a piece of news against their opposition, it’s expected to be believed as true. Lies are being thrown around from all sides and many political and religious leaders are victims of it, no one is spared and we need to be vigilant and do more due diligence before reporting on matters that are unverified or come from suspicious sources.

The Power of Fake News: A Historical Perspective

While Donald Trump popularized the term "Fake News" today, the concept has long been used as a geopolitical weapon. Throughout history, fake news has played a significant role in shaping narratives during critical world issues; like the Cold War, Nazi Germany, and during apartheid in the United States.

During the Cold War, which spanned from the 1940s to the early 1990s, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in extensive propaganda campaigns. In America, “the Red Scare” fueled fears of communist infiltration, while incidents like the Gulf of Tonkin were later revealed to be exaggerated, leading to increased military involvement in Vietnam. The Cuban Missile Crisis saw the U.S. government selectively releasing information to rally public support against the Soviets. Meanwhile, the Soviets spread disinformation to undermine Western motives, funding “peace movements” to present themselves as “champions of peace.”

A fake copy of the Times from North Korea, with communist propaganda inside

In Nazi Germany, propaganda was a key tool for manipulating public opinion. The Nazis used events like “the Reichstag fire,” which they falsely blamed on Communists, to justify civil liberties suspensions. They promoted the "Stab-in-the-Back" myth, falsely accusing Jews of betraying Germany in World War I, and framed their "Euthanasia program” as a “mercy killing for the disabled.” The staged “Gleiwitz incident” was another tactic used to justify the invasion of Poland.

Fake news is also a favourite tool of fundamentalists and ideologues—those with a rigid, narrow worldview who feel threatened by what is different. These actors often operate with a specific agenda, whether religious, political, or ideological, and they spread false narratives not simply to mislead, but to fortify their own base by sowing fear, division, and distrust of the “other.”

German Newspaper about the Reichstag fire

More recently, during apartheid in the U.S., misinformation was used to justify racial segregation and discrimination against Black Americans. This included exaggerating crime rates among Black individuals and perpetuating the "Black rapist" myth to incite fear. Civil rights activists were misrepresented as extremists, and false claims about school integration chaos were spread to maintain racial hierarchies. These narratives reinforced systemic racism and obstructed progress toward equality.

Racist propaganda poster

The U.S. government, through agencies such as the FBI, deployed massive disinformation campaigns and fake news against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in efforts to undermine his credibility and the civil rights movement. Among the unfounded and baseless accusations were that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had communist ties and there were extensive surveillance and wiretapping operations, monitoring his communications. Those who remember, there was the infamous “suicide letter” that was sent to intimidate him over his personal life. The FBI exaggerated King’s intentions and claimed his movement was involved in violence, and labeled them as “radicals,” rather than a peaceful movement. They created rumours about his sexual orientation, among many other slanderous and defamatory pieces of fake news.

This serves as a powerful reminder that false rumours and fake news have long been used as deliberate tools to silence or discredit movements that challenge the status quo. When individuals or groups begin to shift public consciousness or threaten entrenched power structures, misinformation becomes a weapon—one designed not just to confuse, but to destroy reputations, isolate leaders, and fracture collective momentum.

These actions from the U.S. government expose the great lengths that the FBI and the mainstream media were willing to go to, in order to discredit a good man in a bad time of history, to break apart the civil rights movement in America.

The Increasing Danger of AI and “DeepFakes”

Artificial Intelligence has also changed the media landscape forever. What has come to be known as “DeepFakes” will soon call into question any image, video or audio you come across online, and it will impact the world of politics, religion and general news in a way that has never been imagined before. From manipulated images, to fabricated audio and video; these tools of deception are being used by amateurs and professionals alike, young and old—Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Atheist, by everyone. Quite frankly, the people can’t trust their eyes or ears any longer and they can’t trust the information posted online. Even Christians are realising that their discernment is not enough to get them through the dark and raging ocean of lies, to find the pearls of truth on the ground. 

“DeepFakes” is one of the most alarming developments in the realm of fake news. “Deepfakes” or hyper-realistic AI-generated videos/images/audio have exploded on the scene and they can manipulate reality in unprecedented ways. Deepfakes have the potential to create scenarios where world leaders appear to be in compromising situations or say controversial things, even when they were never present at the scene or never spoke those words. 

This technology poses a significant threat to national security and diplomatic relations, as it can be used to fabricate reality, which could incite violence, division and ruin diplomatic relations.

Here is a recent example of what is known as a “DeepFake,” where AI software literally puts words that Donald Trump never said, right in his mouth—and it looks and sounds very real. I myself, coming from a media background for over a decade, spoke with one of my friends and colleagues, Taymour El-Alfy, who has also been in the media for nearly two decades. He agreed, that the video you’re about to watch could easily pass by the majority of people, without realising it’s a “deepfake.”

Now imagine, if this video did not have “deepfake” at the end, right now millions of so-called “investigative journalists or documentary filmmakers” who come across a video like this, what would they do? In the matter of hours, there will be thousands of posts on social media and in just a matter of days, podcasts and documentaries will be posted online, speaking about the latest words of Donald Trump. But in reality, it’s fake news… lies, it’s simply not true. 

This example demonstrates how easily one could manipulate a public figure's image and voice. There was also a “DeepFake” of former president Obama, forever dubbed as “The New World Order,” that slipped under many radars and spread all over the world. The implications of such technology are profound. As deepfake technology becomes more accessible, the potential for misuse grows; raising urgent questions about regulation and accountability.

Around the globe, many political and religious leaders have faced the brunt of deep fake attacks. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other female politicians were targets of “DeepFake Porn Attacks.” Alexandria told the Rolling Stone, “Digitising violent humiliation is like physical rape,” and forewarned that “people are going to kill themselves over this.” She was one of hundreds of thousands of women who have suffered from this. 

There is a growing movement online, where users are distorting videos/images/audio of well-known politicians, otherwise known as “Deepfakes” and posting this content online for the world to see. Conspiracy theorists, quick to jump on the “latest and biggest stories” grab this content and repurpose it, and before it is recognised and disproven, the damage is done. 

The U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency has already developed technologies to identify these deepfakes and said, “We have entered a new world where it is going to be difficult to know how to believe what we see.” But as you can see by this admission from the US government and from experts in this technology, no matter the response, “deepfakes” and “fake news” in general, are nearly impossible to stop. False testimonies in this time, whether it be through text, image, video or audio, is the new reality that we all must live with today.

The Age of Deception: Fake News in the Time of the Mahdi

Fake news has literally become a digital epidemic in this age of technology. It was prophesied by Mohammed and the family of Mohammed, that the Mahdi would appear in this age of deception; where injustice, lies, and false testimonies are rampant. The Mahdi’s role is to guide us all back to the truth and to establish justice and equity in the land. He will expose tyranny and falsehood and establish the Divine Just State. That has been the role thus far of the Mahdi Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem. Aba Al-Sadiq literally means “The Father of truth.”

He has been exposing the falsehood of the tyrants and non-working scholars for over a decade, yet billions of people are still under great deception from the great deceiver, that antichrist system, that propagates its lies to the rest of the world. 

We are in the hour of the Mahdi. Imam Jaffar Al-Sadiq said:

“Verily, during the age of the Qa’im (the Riser, the Mahdi), the believer in the east will see his brother in the west, and the believer in the west will see his brother in the east.” (Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 52, p. 391, Hadith 213)

The world has never been so connected as it is today. Information is literally at our fingertips, and worldwide communication between people of all faiths and backgrounds takes place in the blink of an eye. 

There are also narrations from the Ahlul Bayt that mention how the Mahdi will “speak from his place, yet the whole world will see him.” In another narration and prophecy, it speaks of how the Mahdi will “enter the homes like the heat and cold.” Even though it wasn’t understood at the time, social messenger apps and media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, other social media platforms and satellite TV, have made it possible that the Mahdi Aba Al-Sadiq Abdullah Hashem can speak from his place, yet the whole world can watch him and he is certainly entering hundreds of millions of homes around the world like “the heat and the cold.”

Imam Jaffar Al-Sadiq gave us a powerful narration concerning the time of the Mahdi. He warned us of how the Kings, ministers, the general public, reciters of the Quran and false witnesses, will lie and transgress against the truth. He said:

“Forbearance will be looked upon as weakness and oppression will be considered a matter of pride. Kings and rulers will be sinners and transgressors. Ministers shall be liars. The general public shall be dishonest. The reciters of the Quran will be transgressors. False testimony will be acceptable. Sins would be committed openly. Laying false allegations will be a common thing. Sinfulness and rebellion will be rife. Evil people would be accorded honour. Witnesses will testify without being asked to do so and other people without recognising the truth and in other than religion, they will give deep thought and give testimony. The World will be given precedence over there Hereafter.” (Bihar Al-Anwar, Al-Allamah Al-Majlisi, Vol. 52, Chapter 30, Hadith 26)

We see clearly from Jaffar Al-Sadiq that in the time of the Mahdi, the Kings and ruling tyrants will be liars and transgressors. Their ministers will propagate their false kingdoms and will lie and do anything to maintain their power. The general public living under these tyrannical systems will not only be deceived, but will be dishonest and help the tyrants deceive the masses and tighten down their restraints, preventing the public from breaking free from the chains of lies and deception, holding them back from the truth and enslaving them through their fear of character assassination and death. 

Jaffar Al-Sadiq also warned that “False Testimony” will be acceptable to everyone and will be disseminated as truth. How often do we see this today? Content creators or so-called journalists post a piece of fake news online and without any due diligence, influencers take that information and repurpose its content to sensationalise their platforms to generate more views to boost their pride, get that dopamine hit, and call more followers to themselves and that’s because they live for this world and not the hereafter. 

In the narration it states that “Witnesses will testify without being asked to do so…” and this clearly takes place in numbers that are truly untraceable online and in mainstream media. All over the internet and news networks, people are popping up giving false testimonies for attention, or to achieve status, or to character assassinate someone or some organization, or to even be rewarded financial compensation. And worse yet, the words of Jaffar al-Sadiq warn us that the people will “give deep thought” to this and consider it to be true, without verifying the information, and then they too go out and “give testimony” from the false witness as a “reliable source.”

The Prophet Mohammed said: “Before the Mahdi’s emergence, there will be years of deception in which the liar will be believed, the truthful will be considered a liar, the treacherous will be trusted, and the trustworthy will be considered treacherous. The Ruwaybidah will speak.” He was asked, “Who are the Ruwaybidah?” He replied: “The foolish ones who will speak about public affairs.” (Sunan Ibn Majah)

So how could we sum up these years of deception and foolish ones in the time of the Mahdi, where the “liar will be believed” and “the treacherous will be trusted”? In two short words—“Fake News.” How many foolish ones do we see take the modern day pulpits in religious institutions, on political forums or online forums, and spew hatred, ignorance, lies and fake news?

The Commander of the Truthful and Prince of the believers, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib said that character assassination is worse than the physical death and any victim of cyber/media lies can attest to that. And while some wish they were dead, others actually do end up taking their lives due to the irresponsible and unethical “journalism” from so-called journalists and influencers. However, there are those faithful and righteous ones who stand for the truth, no matter how many oppose it, no matter how great the storm surge is, and they seek and use the truth like a lighthouse in the middle of a dark night, on a raging ocean of lies and propaganda. Because they know that no matter how much the enemies lie, “no matter what they do, they are only paving the way for the inheritor.”