For weeks, the United States moved numerous aircraft, including fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptors air superiority and F-35 Lightning II multirole fighters, to the Middle East in advance of this past weekend’s Operation Epic Fury strikes on Iran. It was hard to miss the movements, which were tracked by aviation watchers using open-source flight trackers.
Several open-source analysts on social media also shared the movements of the U.S. Air Force’s Northrop B-2 Spirit bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri, and back to the United States.
“At last, I can confirm that overnight a flight of 4 B-2A ‘Spirit’ bombers flew non-stop from the United States to Iran to attack targets belonging to the regime,” the UK-based DefenceGeek wrote on X, noting that the information was only posted after the aircraft were back over the Atlantic.
Another open-source intelligence account, TheIntelFrog, confirmed that the B-2s landed at Dyess AFB, Texas, “after diverting following their mission over Iran due to weather at Whiteman.”
In the early hours of Monday, social media accounts also reported that three F-15E Strike Eagles had been shot down in a friendly fire incident before any mainstream media outlets. Many traditional news organizations will wait for confirmation to avoid spreading unsubstantiated rumors, but social media continues to change the way news breaks.
“What we are witnessing is the collapse of the time gap between movement and narrative. That collapse has consequences many institutions are still adapting to,” explained Angeli Gianchandani, instructor of communications at New York University.
She told ClearanceJobs that in prior conflicts, military positioning entered the public record after official confirmation. That is no longer the case.
“Today, open source analysts, commercial flight tracking tools, satellite imagery, and bystanders with smartphones publish fragments of activity in near real time. Those fragments often circulate before an official context can be provided,” Gianchandani added.
Open Source Intel
In many ways, social media adds the informal intelligence layer. In some cases, it has spilled secrets. There are now flight trackers, ship watcher accounts that post when U.S. Navy warships leave or return to ports, and even a Pentagon Pizza tracker.
This provides real-time intel, some of which may not be accurate.
“It can surface legitimate signals, diverted aircraft, unusual flight paths, and operational anomalies. But the platforms themselves are not structured around verification discipline,” said Gianchandani. “As a result, accurate observations and speculative claims travel at a similar speed. Visibility is driven by engagement, not validation.”
There is also the danger that America’s adversaries may be watching.
Last fall, Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested he might have to place large pizza orders at random times to throw off such accounts. Likewise, during last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer, the U.S. Air Force sent several B-2 Spirits over the Pacific, which were tracked. At the same time, seven more flew untracked to Iran to strike Tehran’s nuclear program.
Social media may share data, but that doesn’t mean it should always be trusted. “As always with social media, the ability of anyone to publish, and no gatekeepers of information mean that both good and bad information can find quick vectors,” said Dr. Cliff Lampe, professor of information and associate dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
“It’s the same stream having the same effect – the outcome difference on whether the news is true or not is really a post hoc assessment,” Lampe told ClearanceJobs. “While this is great for sharing information quickly, it can have negative consequences both in terms of sharing true information that maybe shouldn’t be shared and sharing bad information. Both are effects of the underlying structure of the technology.”
Add in AI, Misinformation Could Get Worse
AI is accelerating this dynamic, making it easier than ever to make sense out of what may seem like random or inconsequential movements.
“Recommendation systems amplify emotionally charged content. Generative tools reduce the cost of producing convincing synthetic imagery, including false battle damage assessments that can circulate before ground truth is established. But the deeper shift is structural,” warned Gianchandani. “The story gets written by whoever moves fastest. AI did not create that dynamic. It removed whatever friction remained.”
This has the potential to change the narrative.
As trust in mainstream news falls, many users believe what they read on social media. The danger is that some of it may be misinformation, and other posts may be attempts to spread disinformation.
“We are no longer waiting for a scheduled broadcast to tell us what happened. Unverified fragments arrive continuously, and audiences interpret them in real time without the editorial filters that once slowed the cycle down,” said Gianchandani.
In the case of Iran, it has already spread disinformation that attacks were made on the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has denied that any attack has been carried out, but in doing so, there may be those who suggest a cover-up has occurred.
The fact that three F-15Es were lost will add to the rumors.
The saying “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes,” rings true in this case. And for the record, it has been attributed to both Mark Twain and Winston Churchill, but in an ironic twist, neither is the case. The point remains true: social media will spread misinformation, with the first casualty of war being the truth.
In Iran, many now yearning for freedom may not know what to believe, especially as news is censored.
“The chaos compounds when information is suppressed at the source,” said Gianchandani. “When a country restricts internet access, the vacuum does not stay empty. It fills immediately with speculation, unverified imagery, and competing narratives from outside. No one on the ground can correct the record.”
Gianchandani also warned that misinformation does not emerge separately from real reporting. Instead, it travels alongside it and feeds off the same infrastructure.
“False claims about a carrier strike spread for the same reason accurate aircraft sightings did. The distribution mechanics are identical. Only the underlying facts differ,” she continued. “The strategic challenge is no longer purely operational security. It is maintaining informational stability under compressed timelines. The operational environment now includes the public information sphere in real time. Truth can catch up. Trust cannot.”
