Trump accused media of disseminating fake images and videos generated by Iran using artificial intelligence.
"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 co-ordination" with Iran to spread AI-generated "fake news".
"A.I. has become another Disinformation weapon that Iran uses, quite well, considering they are being annihilated by the day," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"The fact is, Iran is being decimated, and the only battles they 'win' are those that they create through AI, and are distributed by Corrupt Media Outlets," he added.
"The Radical Leftwing Press knows this full well, but continues to go forward with false stories and LIES."
Trump has frequently accused media outlets of lying when they run stories he considers 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.
On Truth Social, he said that Iran had shown "kamikaze boats" that don't 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".
Trump said he was "so thrilled" that Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr was looking into news outlets' broadcast licences.
On Saturday, Carr threatened that licences could be revoked.
"Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up," Carr wrote on X.
"The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."
Trump has repeatedly accused the press of bias and unfair reporting.
He has also spread false claims and AI-generated content in the past, including a promotion of his vision for the future of the Gaza Strip and a racist video in which former president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are depicted as apes.
with reuters
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