section_path: Disinformation
section_name: Disinformation
paragraph_text: Disinformation
  
  Throughout the Sudan conflict, both the SAF and RSF waged aggressive disinformation campaigns, using social media to manipulate public opinion, spread false narratives, and bolster their own images. The RSF ran digital propaganda teams from Khartoum and Dubai, using verified social media accounts to distribute misleading content. The SAF used Twitter for morale-boosting and to counter RSF claims, though some of its posts were proven false.
  
  Widespread disinformation included recycled footage from video games, past conflicts like Ukraine and Libya, and even archaeological props misrepresented as war crimes. For instance, SAF posted a video allegedly showing recent air operations, which was actually from the video game Arma 3. The SAF also circulated altered images, including a fabricated photo of Hemedti hospitalized in Nairobi.
  
  The RSF shared footage of a SAF and Egyptian Air Force warplane reportedly shot down by the RSF found to be that of an Su-25 fighter jet that crashed in Mali, and the other of a Libyan aircraft taken outside Sudan in 2020.
  
  The RSF also sent bulletins to UK politicians with the help of Dubai-based Capital Tap Holdings, aiming to counter what it called "disproportionate" disinformation. Facebook removed RSF pages in August 2024, citing policy violations. The RSF blamed SAF for instigating the ban and said it was negotiating with Meta to restore its accounts.
  
  The conflict's information space has been further destabilized by false claims against organizations like the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate and by deepfake-like imagery. Disinformation experts, including Kyle Walter of Logically, warned that generative AI may be fueling the sophistication of fake content, undermining trust in all sources of information.