The Iranian regime is using artificial intelligence to manipulate public opinion, according to President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The U.S. State Department's Global Engagement Center launched the Iran Disinformation Project in 2018 to surface deliberately false messaging in Iran's official rhetoric, state propaganda outlets, social media manipulation and more. The program was discontinued in 2019 after its official Twitter account began trolling journalists, activists, and academics. While there have been instances of Iran-backed accounts publishing fabricated content, these cannot be attributed to Iran’s influence operations. The Atlantic Council described Iran as a pioneer in the construction of digital influence capabilities. Iran also operates inauthentic accounts on Facebook and Twitter, now X.