Every great technological leap has forced humanity to reconsider what it means to know something to be true. The printing press made books cheap and abundant, but it also made it easier to spread falsehoods. Radio brought the world into people’s living rooms, yet it could also be used as a weapon of propaganda. The internet connected billions of minds, but it opened the floodgates to rumors, conspiracy theories, and deliberate disinformation. Now, artificial intelligence has arrived, and it is not simply another tool in the journalist’s kit. It is a force that transforms the entire landscape of information—how it…

In the heart of Baghdad’s restless political scene, a single rumor was enough to send tremors through the corridors of power. On Sunday, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, known widely as the PMF, moved quickly to quash reports that its chairman, Falih Al-Fayyadh, had been nominated for the post of vice president. The denial was firm, almost dismissive, framed as a necessary response to what the organization called “suspicious” social media chatter and misleading news reports. For those who follow Iraqi politics closely, the moment felt familiar: a story emerges from an unnamed source, spreads like wildfire across platforms, and then…