It wasn't immediately clear whether Trump believed that the video was real.
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Trump shares AI video claiming US bombed Iran’s Kharg Island, as US strikes Iran for real
This week, the White House's social feed does the setup: Trump shares an AI-generated video, appearing to claim the US bombed Iran’s Kharg Island. Hours later, the Pentagon carries out real strikes on Iranian targets. The digital and the actual blur together, and the official line—‘the president was making a point’—collapses when the point is made with bombs. The administration says the video is just illustrative, not misleading. The actual strikes are carefully reported, but the timeline is not. Transparency is promised, unless the situation changes, in which case the facts will be clarified—again. The result: the official narrative moves faster than the facts, and the public is left to connect the dots between what’s posted and what’s real. The stakes are literal—lives, military action, and the power to define what counts as news.
“The president posts a video making up a bombing, then the US goes and actually bombs Iran. The line between fake and real is just who gets to press the button. If you want to know what’s coming, watch the feed, not the briefings.”
“It’s important to clarify that the president’s video was meant to illustrate a point, not to mislead. The actual strikes are a separate matter, and the administration is committed to transparency. Unless, of course, the situation changes, and then—well, the facts evolve. Did I say evolve? I meant clarify.”
The receipts
The U.S. and Iran traded strikes over the weekend for the first time in a month. The attacks came after President Trump hit Iran with new sanctions. CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean has more.
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front.