Islamic State uses AI for Spanish-language propaganda after Bamiyán attack
The Islamic State of Khorasan Province used artificial intelligence to generate a Pashto-language television news broadcast as propaganda following an attack that killed four Spanish tourists and three Afghan civilians in Bamiyán, Afghanistan in May 2024. The group distributed the AI-generated video and other propaganda materials including magazines, videos and podcasts through multiple channels, as part of its wider propaganda campaign.
What happened
The Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP) used artificial intelligence to recreate a television news broadcast in Pashto about an attack on tourists in Bamiyán, Afghanistan in May 2024.
The Islamic State distributed multiple propaganda materials about the attack including communiqués, magazines, videos, infographics and a podcast through channels including Telegram and Al Battar Media Foundation's Blogspot. The Spanish-language propaganda unit 'Voz de Al Andalus' translated and distributed Islamic State communications to Spanish-language audiences, a practice described as now routine by the group.
Reported impact
Four Spanish tourists were killed along with three Afghan civilians in the attack on a market in Bamiyán that the Islamic State framed as targeting coalition nations' citizens.
Index analysis
The AI-generated television recreation marked the first known use of artificial intelligence by ISKP for propaganda purposes.
The Islamic State's use of AI to generate synthetic media accompanies its established practice of translating and distributing propaganda in multiple languages including Spanish.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.